Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry
by Star Mile
Summary: There's change in the air at a certain high school, and everyone seems to be caught in its mist. Devious teachers, transfer students, and school pranks. Cliques clash in this tale of punishment and unexpected romance. Slash.
1. Sick Sad Little World

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Notes:** Please Read This First.

I was inspired. I read a fic by Link Worshiper called "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and I got inspired. I love the fic and the way it's written so I decided to write a fic in the teen perspective. I didn't steal her idea or her storyline or anything. I just decided to write a fic in the same perspective.

This is an Alternate Universe fic. You don't have to know a whole lot about the anime/manga to get it. The places in this fic are based off places I have been and the school is much like my own high school. This is a yaoi/shounen ai fic which means there will be boy-and-boy kissing/romance. If it's not your favorite type of candy, don't eat it.

The Sohma family is not a part of this fic. Yes, I know that I use the Sohmas, but they are not related…just simply a common name in the city. There are two that are still related though and I won't give it away now.

The fic name is a Relient K song. It's an awesome song that makes me laugh. So I hope this fic does the same for you. Well, now I'll give you a short summary of this fic.

**Summary:** Digging himself into the hole was the easy part. Now getting himself out of it would be a challenge, especially when his escape ladder is a job he doesn't want and a person he can't stand. Yuki Sohma…the only person in the school that can get Kyo's blood boiling just by looking at him.

Now, I give you the fic. Enjoy.

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C_hapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
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_1st Tube  
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_Beep. Beep. Beep. _The incessant 'beeping' of the alarm clack on the small table broke through the silence of the early hours. A tan hand darted out from under the mound of covers on the nearby bed and fumbled around blindly, searching for the button to quiet the small machine. Not being able to find the clock at all, the covers were thrown back by said hand to reveal a head of tousled, gingery hair belonging to a teenage boy.

He sat up and reached over to the table, once again in search of the mysterious, beeping clock. Heavy eyelids lifted slowly to reveal vermilion-colored irises. Blinking a few times, to remove all traces of last night's deep slumber, the boy focused on the small table beside his bed. He could still hear the clock, but where was it? He looked over the table with a confused and bewildered look.

"Looking for this?" a deep voice behind him asked.

The boy turned slowly and looked up at a tall man with long, dark hair pulled into a low ponytail. The man tossed the alarm clock at the teen and moved to sit on the bed beside him. "Kyo, your alarm clock has been going off for the last ten minutes. Don't you think you should get up now? You're going to be late."

Kyo turned the clock off and set it on the small table. He fell back in his bed and pulled the covers back up over his head. "Who cares? It's just school." He mumbled a few unintelligible words and groaned a bit before finally falling back to sleep. But that comfortable sleeping state didn't last very long. Before he could get too deep in dreamland, he was brought back to reality. In a flash, the covers were thrown off again and a bucket of freezing water soaked the teen. "WHAT! Alright! Alright! I'll go! Geez, Master! It's not like anyone wants me there anyway." He added the last part quietly, but despite that, the man caught it.

"You'd be surprised. You say that no one wants you there, but you know that there is someone that wants you there. And I told you, you don't have to call me 'Master'…call me 'dad' or 'Kazuma' or something. 'Master' makes me sound old. " He left the room, taking the bucket with him. "Now start getting ready," he shouted from the other room. "It's almost 8 o'clock. You know the first bell rings at half-past."

Still lying in bed on the icy covers, Kyo groaned to himself. School was not his favorite place; it barely even registered on his radar. Reluctantly, he got up from the bed and wandered over to his dresser across the room. Pulling out a clean set of clothes, he meandered into the bathroom where he would begin his morning ritual of cursing all of the preps at his school while showering and getting ready. He didn't know why he even bothered to go to school at all. He couldn't stand most of the people there and there were so many stupid cliques. Yet, he still got up, got dressed, and went to school. And today was no different than any other day…or so he thought.

The four teens walked in silence down the road, the only sound that of their shoes dragging on the pavement and the occasional rock skidding down the road after it was kicked. After a while, the silence became deafening and the tall blonde of the group thought she would burst. "Okay," she blurted, "someone's gotta start talking before I go insane. They say silence is golden, but this silence is scary! I mean, what the hell's wrong with everybody!" She threw her hands up in defeat when she received no answer and went back to kicking around the rock at her feet.

"Chill out, Uo. It's just…there's a lot on my mind right now," Kyo replied coldly.

"Like what?" a teen with white hair and a black hairline asked.

"Like what you're going to do when Principal Genkai finds out what you did?" a tall, brunette girl asked with a smirk.

"Shut up, Shizuru! And you too, Haru! No! Besides, she'll never find out anyway." Kyo looked at his other three companions suspiciously. "Unless someone opens their trap and tells her that it was me that made the bomb threat, she'll never know." Turning his gaze back to the sidewalk that they were now walking on, he looked up a little and stopped right where he was. Principal Genkai was standing right in front of him. "Uh, Principal Genkai…wow, we're at school already? We must've walked really fast. Uh, seen any good movies lately?" Kyo asked, in the hopes that he could distract her from what he had just admitted. Yet, he knew the effort was futile.

"Well, well, Mr. Sohma, I was just coming to ask you if you had heard anything about that incident last week, but I guess I have no need to pester you now with questions of who was responsible. Now, if you'll just follow me, we'll get this little confession taken care of," the short, old lady replied calmly with a small curl of her lips. She turned on her heels and motioned for Kyo to follow her.

Nervously he started after her, but not without mouthing to the others, who were still standing in shock, that he would survive. "Principal Genkai, I'll be late for class. I've already got two tardies; one more and I'll get written up!" he exclaimed uneasily.

"Shut up, dimwit. I'm the principal. I'll send you with a little note and it'll be taken care of. No problem," she responded tersely with a little wave of her hand.

"Geez! You go from being a somewhat polite old lady to a bitch in less than thirty seconds! What the Hell's up with that!"

"Language."

"Whatever! You called me a dimwit! Are teachers even allowed to do that?" Kyo stalked angrily behind the old lady. He thrust his hands into the pockets of his baggy cargo pants and scowled at everyone standing around him. Just what he needed: a lifetime's worth of detention. He was sure that was what he would get. As they reached her office, he fidgeted with whatever trinkets were stashed in his pockets.

**-------**

Opening the door widely, Principle Genkai grinned at Kyo maliciously before stepping in behind the teen and slamming the door shut. "So, let's see. Where do we begin?" She walked around behind the tall mahogany desk in the center of the room and took a seat as Kyo sat across from her in a small chair. "How about here? What possessed you to do something as stupid as calling in a fake bomb threat? You do know that is a felony, right? You could get in loads of trouble with the police. I could turn you in and you could get in more trouble than you could even imagine. But I'm going to be nice today."

Kyo was staring out the window at the students having class outside until those last words left her mouth. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before turning his gaze back to the kids now acting out a skit which looked like the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. Not that he read that mushy romance stuff, or would admit to it, for that fact. "You…be nice? You're kidding, right? What's the occasion?"

"I'm not kidding. And there is no occasion, the fact of the matter is that I'm sick of seeing you sitting in my office everyday for some stupid prank you pulled or some comment you made. You're a good kid from what I can tell. You just have a penchant for getting into mischief." The principal sighed as she rested her hands on the desk in front of her. "We have a new student joining us today. Somehow, his schedule lines up with yours and a few other students perfectly."

"So, what's that got to do with anything?" Kyo asked, his voice taking on the annoying tone that signified that he wanted to be anywhere but there right then.

"If you'd give me a chance to finish, dimwit, I'll tell you what it has to do with you. He needs a guide since he doesn't know his way around. I've decided that you will be his guide." She smirked as Kyo stared at her, his jaw hanging open with disbelief. "I was going to assign Yuki or Shuichi to be his guide, but since I learned of your latest stunt, I would rather you do it. Think of it as your punishment for making all of the students stand outside in the rain for forty-five minutes, waiting for a ride to the junior high."

"But I don't want some guy just following me around all the time! How come you don't just give me detention or something?" he asked frantically.

"Well, you'd be the only person in detention and I don't think it's fair to make a teacher sit in a room with one student after school for two hours."

"Well, how long do I have to have him following me around for? I don't want to have him following me for the rest of my high school career!" he practically screamed as he leaned forward over the desk staring right into the eyes of Principal Genkai.

"Mr. Sohma! Sit back in that chair before I demonstrate what my martial arts teacher taught me when I was your age."

"Bring it on, old lady!" Kyo blushed as he sat back in his chair and thought about his actions. He had just challenged his principal, who appeared to be about eighty or ninety years old, to a physical fight. This one could never get out.

"He will not be following you around. You will be showing him where his classes are and yes, he may be clingy for the first few days, but that's to be expected. How would you be in a new school? Certainly you would not know your way around instantaneously. And neither will he. So suck it up. You can be a guide to a new student or a guide to a new inmate. Which do you prefer?"

"I'll take the inmate," Kyo replied sarcastically.

"Very well then." The principal picked up the phone and dialed 911. Kyo could hear the faint ringing from where he was sitting and then heard when the operator on the other end picked up. "Hello. Can you get me the local police department? Sure I'll hold." She glanced over at Kyo and smirked at the pleading look on his face.

"I was just kidding! Lady, have a heart! Please! I'll take the guy around! Geez! Just don't call the police! Master will kill me! So where is the twerp?"

"Glad you are finally seeing things my way." She placed the phone back on the receiver and folded her hands once again in front of her. She wore a smile of victory as she nodded towards the room adjoining her own. "He's in there. Why don't you go start your job now?" As he slowly got up and walked over towards the door, she threw in nonchalantly, "Oh and this isn't the extent of your punishment. Until I find something else to add to it, be expecting more."

Kyo groaned as he stepped through the entrance to the room and closed the door behind him. He saw a boy sitting at the desk with his feet thrown up and his eyes closed. His jet black hair was slicked back and he wore worn blue jeans with black Converse All-stars on his feet and a white t-shirt with a red jacket. He appeared to be sleeping. "Great,"he thought, "his first day here and he's sleeping already. The idiot's not even in class yet" Kyo walked over to the desk and used his foot to push the other boy's feet off the desk throwing his upper body forwards from the reclined position he was in.

The boy's eyes shot open and he sat up at the desk. He stared hard at the gingery-haired teen in front of him. His breathing was ragged from being startled and there was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. "Geez, you can't do that to people. You just shaved ten years off my life!" Seeing that it was only another student, he sat back in the desk and once again threw his feet up on the desk. "So who exactly are you anyway?"

Kyo grunted and glared at the boy. "Kyo. Kyo Sohma. I'm supposed to take you around this place. Who the hell are you?"

"M' name's Yusuke Urameshi." The boy put out one hand in Kyo's direction. "So, how about we head on to class now and later you can point out all the cliques? I'd really hate to get mixed up with the wrong crowd, ya know?" The boy let a smirk creep onto his face with the last remark.

Kyo reluctantly took the boy's hand and gripped it tightly, letting the boy know that he had better not get on his bad side. "Well then, let's get to class. First on the agenda: English Lit. The teacher's pretty cool, but the class sucks." So letting go of Yusuke's hand and turning to the door, Kyo gestured to Yusuke to follow him.

-------

Kyo waltzed into class and handed the dark-haired teacher a note. Said teacher smiled and pointed at two desks in the back of the classroom. Kyo started for the back of the class and took the seat next to the window. Yusuke followed and took the seat next to him. Yusuke glanced around the class, trying to get an idea of what types of people his new peers were. Just then a girl with blonde hair that fell beneath her shoulders turned in her desk and faced Kyo. Her hair covered one eye but from what Yusuke could see of the other, she had sapphire eyes.

"So, what'd the old bag do to you? Is it really awful?" she whispered anxiously.

Kyo just glared at her, like he seemed to do most of the time. "I don't want to talk about it now Uo. I'll explain everything later."

Satisfied with his decision of silence, she turned back around with a snicker. "Must be pretty bad," she whispered to herself, though Yusuke knew she had meant it to be loud enough to catch Kyo's attention. And it did. The boy just glared harder at the head in front of him.

"Class. I've got some news…I don't know whether we can classify it as good news or bad news…but I've got news!" the dark-haired teacher began enthusiastically. "We have a new student!" The teacher gestured for Yusuke to join him at the front of the class.

Yusuke walked slowly up the aisle to stand beside the smiling teacher. "Um, hi," he said as he stared out into the mass of faces. "My name's Yusuke Urameshi."

"Well Yusuke, I'm Mr. Sohma. But as you will learn, Sohma is a pretty common name around these parts and there are two other teachers by the same name. You can call me Shigure." The teacher, now known as Shigure, shook Yusuke's hand as he smiled at the fact that the teacher didn't mind being so casual with names. "If you want, we can go around the room and everyone can say their name. That way, you'll at least have an idea of who's in your class. And so you'll see what I mean about the name Sohma," he added with a low chuckle.

So Yusuke pulled a chair from an empty desk and sat in the front of the room staring at everyone as they went around the room introducing themselves. He really didn't catch much, except the fact that there were seven Sohmas in the class, one being his guide, Kyo, and not including his teacher, Shigure. "So, I have a question. Are ANY of the Sohmas related?"

"That's a good question. Well, there are only two Sohmas in the whole school that are related. That's Yuki and-" Shigure started.

A boy with dark, silvery hair and violet eyes shot up in his desk. "Teacher, may I see you outside?" he asked frantically.

The teacher looked over at him confusedly, and then glanced back at Yusuke. "Well, Yusuke, if you would so kindly excuse me for a moment, Yuki would like to speak with me. I'll get back to you." Shigure started for the door, with Yuki not far behind him. He followed the older gentleman out and closed the door behind him.

As soon as they were outside, Yuki regained his calm composure. "If you don't mind, I would like to keep it quiet that he and I are related."

The teacher looked confused. "But Yuki, why?"

"Well, the only people that actually know of it are him, you, Hatori, Kurama, and I. And I would rather like to keep it that way. Please," Yuki stated almost sadly.

"Well, if that's what you would like, so be it." Shigure opened the door to the classroom and Yuki walked in nonchalantly, taking his seat back by a person with long, red hair. His eyes fell upon the dark-haired teacher, who only smiled and winked in response before casually changing his previous subject.

The rest of the class went much like this, with Yusuke still sitting in the front casually playing in with the teacher's random out-of-place jokes. When the class was finally over, and Yusuke's stomach had whined more than a few times, Kyo led the ebony-haired youth to the large, open cafeteria. Yusuke never thought he'd be so happy to smell the awkward scent of cafeteria food.

**-------**

Chapter 1 title: Sick Sad Little World by Incubus

I decided to repost this story since I've let it sit for over a year before I managed to get my technical problems and personal problems all sorted out. I tried new markers, and I edited all of the past chapters. I also hope to get more reviews this time around, like archy said. :) Please review, guys.

--Fire-Arisa-Ice--


	2. Cute Without the 'E' Cut From the Team

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Notes: **The 'Bomb Threat Incident' was something that happened my freshman year at my high school. We stood in the rain in like 30 degree weather to wait for a ride to the junior high. Needless to say, it sucked.

**-------  
**_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
**_**-------  
****2nd Tube  
****-------**

"Man! I never thought I'd be so happy to smell this rotten food!" Yusuke exclaimed as he sat his tray down on the table beside Kyo's and sat down on the small round seat beside him. "It doesn't matter where you go, all high school cafeteria food sucks. Or at least smells like it sucks."

"I have to disagree with you," a tall brunette said as she placed her tray in front of the two and took a seat. "Not all cafeteria food sucks. I mean, take a look at this pizza on my tray. Sure, it smells like shit and looks greasy and disgusting, but it tastes pretty good if you ask me."

Yusuke looked at her with a grin. He picked up the similar piece of pizza on his own tray and brought it to his mouth. "Mmm…I guess…you're right," he said between bites. "It is pretty good. Who are you again?"

"Shizuru Kuwabara. So, you're the new kid? I see you've met our resident bad-ass, Kyo Sohma," she said as she jerked a thumb over in the boy's direction.

Yusuke looked over at the orange-haired youth beside him. He wore the same glare as earlier and his lips were pulled tight in an angry frown. "Oh yeah, he's supposed to be my guide or something."

Just then, two more teens came and placed their trays on either side of Shizuru and sat down. Yusuke recognized one as the blonde from earlier, known as Uo, and the boy was one of the many Sohmas from his class. They both looked him over for a moment, then went to munching on the poor excuse of a lunch they had been served.

"These guys are Uo and Haru," Shizuru said as she nodded towards the two of them.

The blonde swallowed her food and stuck out her hand to Yusuke. "I'm Arisa Uotani, but formalities suck, so I prefer to be called Uo. I already know who ya are so there's no need to give your name, Yusuke."

Yusuke snorted as she took her hand back and went back to eating. The boy, with white hair on the top of his head and a black hair line beneath, didn't stick out his hand or even look up from his tray. He just simply stated in a calm tone, "Hatsuharu Sohma. Just call me Haru."

"Ya have to just look over him sometimes. He's not rude like that all the time. He's acting like a cold jerk now, and he probably will act like that for a while, till he gets to know ya. And even then he might still act like a jackass around you-"

"Shizuru?"

"Yeah Haru?"

"Shut it. Now." The boy never looked up from his meal and never shot a glance in any direction. But it was hard to mistake that tone.

"Whatever Haru. Anyway! So Kyo, what'd the old hag do to you? Are you like sentenced to five years of detention or what?" she asked, adding a glare in Haru's direction.

Kyo stopped twirling the food on his tray with his fork long enough to look up and glare at the brunette. "No, she didn't." He turned his attention back to the tray thinking of it as an end to the discussion.

But Shizuru was curious and wanted to know exactly what happened. "Well, what'd she do?"

Kyo dropped his fork and slammed his hands down on the table. "Is it any of your damn business anyway!" He practically screamed at her while standing angrily, causing everyone in the cafeteria to stare at him.

"Oh his pumishment? He's just gotta take me around everywhere. Ya know? Be my guide and whatnot," Yusuke stated nonchalantly. He picked up his piece of pizza and began eating again.

Kyo stared at him in disbelief. "Dammit, you have a big mouth! What the hell did ya go and tell them for?"

Yusuke stared up at Kyo with a smirk. "Sit down and I'll tell you." Satisfied with Kyo complying, he went on. "Now what would people think if they saw me following you everywhere? What kind of ideas would they get, do you think?" Yusuke added the last part while rubbing against Kyo's shoulder.

Kyo, while by no means absolutely straight as he had declared to himself, was stricken with horror as the boy made such gestures towards him. He fell off his seat into the floor as he stared at the boy. "What the hell is your problem!"

Yusuke stared at him confusedly before bursting out into laughter. "That was great! You should have seen the look on your face!" Yusuke stretched out a hand to help the boy up, but Kyo refused it and took his seat without any help. "Do you honestly think that I would hit on you the first day I met you?"

Kyo looked at Yusuke bewildered. "You mean…you really are…well, you know?" Kyo asked, stumbling over his words more than a few times.

"Well, I'm not sure. But I'm not totally against the idea. I say whatever makes you happy! So my choices are open to anyone, guy or girl, doesn't matter." Yusuke gestured to the entire cafeteria as if in example. "Just about anyone in here is on my radar, be it they're my age or at least close to it. I wouldn't hit on a teacher or anything like that, I mean."

The three sitting across from Yusuke started laughing as they stared at Yusuke. Yusuke looked at the three skeptically. "What do you have something against people like me?"

Haru, who was laughing till he was on the verge of tears, managed to compose himself enough to respond. "No, we just think it's funny as all. Seeing as Kyo has the same sexual preference, as do I."

Yusuke's eyes widened as he started to laugh. "Seriously? So you guys are bi, too?"

Shizuru, still laughing hysterically, looked at Yusuke in amusement. "Well, they are, but Uo and I aren't. We're as straight as they come, but I guess we're not totally against opening our preferences."

"Yeah," Uo added. "I guess, we could eventually end up bi. We've just never really considered it."

Kyo sat in extreme amazement. Sure, he was bisexual too, but he never really openly admitted it. Sure his friends knew, but Yusuke had said it so loudly that he was sure that half the cafeteria heard him, at least all of the people sitting around them heard.

"See I can say that that girl over there with the long brown hair is hot, and at the same time, there's no denying the fact that that guy over there with the long red hair, is just as hot and sexier than her. I mean, he has the most gorgeous green eyes I've ever seen," Yusuke said as if explaining himself.

"Yeah, Shuichi is pretty hot," Haru added in agreement. "But he has so many girls floating around him that I doubt he'd give a guy a second thought." Haru's gaze softened as he stared past the red-head. "But it's not Shuichi that I have my eyes on. If I had to pick any guy, I'd definitely choose his best friend Yuki Sohma."

Yusuke glanced at the boy beside the red-head. "Yeah, I guess he's pretty hot, too. But I can think of many things that I can do with Shuichi and all that long hair," Yusuke added with a smirk.

Kyo blushed an unimaginable shade of red. "C-can we NOT talk about this right now? I'm not gonna be able to eat my lunch."

"Yeah his hair could definitely come in handy in any master-slave scenarios. And it could prove as a wonderful toy in any game," Haru continued. "But then again, it could get in the way. Ya know, like if it blocked your view or something?"

"I guess you're right. And now that I actually get a good look at Yuki's ass, it looks rather sexy…nice and round-"

"WILL YOU GUYS SHUT UP!" Kyo exclaimed. "Please just hold off on the comments till I'm out of here! Geez! I can't even eat now! I'm just seeing Yuki's ass and thinking about everything you said about-" Kyo stopped abruptly as he realized that he had just shouted that out to the entire cafeteria. He slowly took his seat and let his head drop violently to the table, creating a loud echo that resonated through the silent room. "Why me?"

**-------**

Kyo and the other four teens walked slowly down the stairs to the outside of the high school. As Haru, Shizuru, and Uo each left to head home, for they all lived in the same neighborhood, Kyo and Yusuke stayed at school. Yusuke had asked earlier if there was a place where he could work out after school. So Kyo proceeded to take Yusuke to the weight room near the gym.

"There's just about anything in here you can think of, the school doesn't mind too much if you stay after and work-out so long as you don't destroy anything. I'm gonna run some. I like to do laps around the track. Come on and I can show you to the locker room so we can get into some clothes that are more suitable."

Yusuke scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Um, Kyo? I don't exactly have any with me. Since I came half-way through the year, I missed P.E. I didn't have a slot open to get it. I only had enough to get all of my core classes." Yusuke's look turned to utter confusion as he just realized how his schedule was with Kyo's. "So what's up with that anyway? How come you have all of your required classes in second semester, too?"

"Well it's this stupid system. They give some students all of their electives first semester then pack them down with all of the hard classes second semester. I was one of the unlucky ones, then some have all of their core classes in first semester and get all of their electives in second semester, and then there are some that have a mix. I wish I had a mix, but I'm not lucky enough," Kyo said bitterly. "It left me with all of the preppy good students who asked for all of their required classes to be in the same semester…and they just happen to have it the same semester as me." He began walking towards another room and gestured for Yusuke to follow him. "Anyway, don't worry, I still keep two outfits in here. I asked Coach if I could leave them in here for after-school training and stuff and he agreed. So don't sweat it."

After dressing out, Yusuke went back to the weight room and proceeded to go through his normal routine, while Kyo retreated to the outside track. Kyo tightened his shoelaces and set the timer on his watch so that he could do his normal 15 minute run without having to check the time. He sat on the ground going through his normal routine and then stood to start his run. Just as he hit the button on his watch and started running, a crowd of guys came swarming around him. "What the hell!" he shouted out as he fought to see what was going on. He stopped where he was and the crowd ran on without him. Kyo turned behind him to see the coach of the boys' soccer team standing with his clipboard in hand. "Coach! What's going on! You know I come out here and run every afternoon. Why'd you bring that horde of demonic preps out here to disrupt me!"

The tall man, with dark brown hair that covered his left eye, gazed up from his work and stared at Kyo. "And you know that soccer season starts soon, so we need the track to start training endurance and whatnot. I told you that last week. I also gave you my proposition, have you considered it?"

Kyo grunted and frowned. "No, I haven't considered it, and I never will. I'm telling you exactly what I told you last week…no, I won't do it."

"I see." The man took a seat on the nearby bleachers and called the boy Kyo presumed to be the manager of the team over to him. He said something quietly to the boy and he left. The man let a small smirk grace his features before putting up his emotionless face and returning back to his clipboard.

As much as Kyo hated to do it, he had to run. He wanted to stay in shape and going a day without running wasn't something he planned to do. So he reluctantly began running around the track, after resetting his watch of course (the less time he had to spend with that group of players, the happier he was). He set off around the track, easily catching the large group of players and even passing some. Eventually he found himself at the head of the pack between two of his least-favorite classmates. Yuki Sohma and Shuichi Minamino. Two preps that were smart, popular, and, on top of that, jocks, and just so happened to be the topic of the last time he stuck his foot in his mouth.

Kyo surged forward hoping to get away from the two, but, no matter how much faster he ran, they got closer. Soon, Kyo put forth all he had and jetted away from the two. Kyo was no average teenager, he'd spent most of his life running, training, and exercising. He was an exceptional player at any sport and excelled in track and field events. But he refused to play for any team or any teacher for that matter.

Kyo slowed to a slow jog as his watch went off and he glanced behind him. The team had left the track and was currently on the field the track surrounded. They seemed to be running drills and practicing footwork for the upcoming season. He wondered where the time had went, and he felt his shirt cling to him with sweat as he slowed to a stop and began stretching again to avoid any injury.

He glanced at the team on the field as he stretched and wondered what it would be like to actually be a part of that team. Then his eyes wandered over the vast expanse of the field taking in each player and sizing them up. Most were preps, and others were jocks that were there because it was all they were good at. Kyo's eyes fell upon two of the forwards on the team. They both wore their usual equipment, shin guards under long socks pulled to their knees, and cleats. They were wearing baggy, loose white jerseys and stood in position to start the upcoming scrimmage.

Kyo stopped his stretching to watch the game as it started. He was sucked into the game, and almost didn't feel the hand as it rested on his shoulder. Kyo looked up to see Yusuke standing above him. He wore a big grin and looked like he was up to something.

"Why didn't you tell me you were gonna watch the hotties get all sweaty? It's my favorite show!" Yusuke added with a wink.

"Haha, funny, Yusuke. Real funnny. I didn't come out here to watch them. I came out here to run."

"Then why aren't you running?" Yusuke asked skeptically.

"I was running, but I'm finished now. So do you wanna go?" Kyo asked, hoping to get the chance to leave.

Yusuke sat down beside the boy on the track and reclined back on his hands. "Ahh, I don't think I'm quite ready yet. Let's watch the show for a while, 'kay?"

Kyo groaned and frowned, but unwillingly agreed as he watched the bodies move across the field fighting for control of the black-and-white ball. As soon as the hand tapped him on the shoulder, he wished he'd left instead.

"Mr. Sohma, please come join the coach and me over on the bleachers," the old lady said as she jerked Kyo up from his sitting position.

"Ouch! What the hell do you want, you old hag!" Kyo yelled at Principal Genkai as she dragged him over to where the team coach sat.

"I just found the other half of your punishment. And I think it fits very well," she added sadistically.

When Kyo finally took a seat beside the coach, he kept his gaze trained on the game before him and then wandering down where Yusuke watched him curiously. "Well, Kyo, I'm sure you know that Tatsuha fell down the steps to the locker room a few days ago," the coach stated.

"Yeah, what the Hell does it have to do with me?"

"Well, he tore a large amount of the ligaments in his right ankle. He can't play this year. Which means, we're short a forward."

"I thought teams had bench players for this sort of incident," Kyo stated maliciously.

"Well, we do have bench players, but Tatsuha was a bench player. He was the only bench player that could play a forward position. We have no back-up player, and it's too late to train another to play forward. We need you," Coach pleaded.

"I already told you that I don't want to play for your team. I don't want to have anything to do with it!"

Principal Genkai stepped forward and stared hard at Kyo. "Well that's it, consider yourself the newest member of the team."

"What!"

"You are now required to play a forward on the boys' soccer team. That is, unless you want me to contact the police," she said spitefully.

"Damn it. How the hell do I get out of this one?" Kyo wondered aloud to himself.

**-------**

Chapter 2 title: Cute Without the 'E' Cut From the Team

The incident with the person falling don the stairs actually happened to a friend of mine. :) Please review, guys.

--Fire-Arisa-Ice--


	3. Silver & Cold

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**-------  
**_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
**_**-------  
****3rd Tube  
****-------**

Kyo angrily threw his bag in a corner and plopped down face-first onto the plush mattress of his bed, still slightly damp from his morning escapade. His master wasn't home yet; he was working late again, so Kyo wouldn't have any company for a while. He angrily gripped the covers and clenched his eyes shut. "You have to let this out…you can't keep it bottled up. You remember what happened last time," Kyo mumbled to himself. Rolling over and kicking off his shoes at the same time, Kyo laid on his back staring at the blue ceiling for a while. After deciding that the miniscule cracks in the paint weren't very interesting, he stumbled to his feet and made his way over to his computer.

He turned it on and waited for the settings to load before he went to the internet. Unknown to his friends, Kyo kept an online diary. It was a way to vent and release all of his anger. It was a stress-relief activity that he had picked up about a year earlier. But he didn't keep it for just a way to let go, it was a domain of advice, too. It was comforting to be able to post and then have someone to reply and leave him words of guidance and comfort. Kyo posted about everything, and had many questions. He was a sucker for opinions and would constantly ask for an opinion on what he should do in certain situations.

After keeping the journal online for a year, Kyo had accumulated a total of 54 online friends. Most only commented when he posted something that hit home with them, but there was one friend he had made that commented on every post. Kyo didn't know who the person was or what their name was, but he did know that said person was a male who was about his age. And that was enough to satisfy Kyo.

Quickly signing into messenger as he waited to update his journal, Kyo smiled as he saw the familiar screen name of his mystery friend under the "signed in" heading. "This is just what I need right now," he said as he opened a window and initiated a conversation.

**MartialArtistNeko**: hey

**Yoko700**: hey

**MartialArtistNeko**: I hate to bother you will all of my stupid problems, but do you think I could rant to you for a bit? It's just that a lot's bothering me lately…

**Yoko700**: of course you can rant, you know I don't mind…hopefully I'll be able to help you get past this

**MartialArtistNeko**: thanks…it's just, today I was given this totally stupid punishment by my principal…it's a 2 part punishment…I think the 1st half will be okay, but the 2nd half is a real pain in the ass

**Yoko700**: what's the 2nd part of the punishment?

**MartialArtistNeko**: I have to become a forward on our boy's soccer team…

**Yoko700**: well, that's not that bad…soccer is a great sport…I play a forward on our school's soccer team

**MartialArtistNeko**: well, I know soccer is fun and all…and I used to play for a while, but then…never mind

**Yoko700**: no, go on, what happened?

Kyo clenched his fists as his eyes watered. He hadn't told anyone this story before, not even Uo, Shizuru, or Haru knew. And now he was going to tell a complete stranger? He closed his eyes, trying to dam the tears. But they broke through, triumphantly as his fingers played over the keys of the ebony keyboard.

**MartialArtistNeko**: well, my mom always wanted me to play sports, and wanted me to be a part of a team…so I played for her…she signed me up for soccer, and baseball and even signed me up for martial arts…well, I played for years and soon, she fell in love with my martial arts teacher…so she remarried and we were all happy…then there was an accident

**Yoko700**: accident?

**MartialArtistNeko**: yeah, there was a car accident…Master and I made it out alright, we were on the left side of the car…but mom…she was on the right side…and she took most of the impact…and I guess she took enough because it killed her…after that, I didn't want to play anymore, I didn't want to do anything…the only thing I did keep doing was martial arts and track…I only kept that up for Master

**Yoko700**: what about your real father? He let you live with your step-dad after your mom's death?

**MartialArtistNeko**: well, he didn't have much say…mom hadn't seen him since the day she told him she was pregnant with me…he ran…so I've never even seen my father…I don't even know his name

**Yoko700**: oh, I'm so sorry…I know what it's like to lose a parent…my dad died when I was very small…I have a vague memory of him but that's about it…and I almost lost my mom last year to cancer… and my mom remarried too, so I know what it's like to gain a step-dad

**MartialArtistNeko**: oh, I'm sorry…this probably brings up bad memories for you

**Yoko700**: well, not really…it actually makes me smile

**MartialArtistNeko**: how's that?

**Yoko700**: well, when I think about my dad dying, I at least know now that he is in a much better place and I'm happy for him…and when I think about how close I was to losing my mom, it just reminds me that I have her now and that I should cherish every moment with her

**MartialArtistNeko**: Yeah, I guess you're right…and I guess soccer won't be so bad…

**Yoko700**: yeah, just think of it as a way to let her live on…you will always remember how much your mom loved you, so long as you keep doing what she wanted most

**MartialArtistNeko**: thanks for the advice… I was planning on updating my journal to get your advice, but this way is much better and I don't need to anymore…but I have to go now…I'm late for work

**Yoko700**: lol, well you're welcome…anytime you need help, just let me know…bye

Kyo closed the browser that his page had loaded to and then signed out of messenger while he frantically pulled on his shoes. He was late for work…again. "Geez, Karasu is gonna slaughter me! He'll mutilate me for sure! And Sakyo isn't going to be pleased either!" Kyo grabbed his jacket from a nearby chair and sprinted out the room and down the stairs.

**-------**

Kyo skidded into the small shop as he pulled the jacket back down from over his head. He glanced around frantically, making sure no one had seen him enter the shop. After all, what would one think if they saw him enter a pawn shop that doubled as an 'adult-type' store? On the business cards was printed "Passion and Pleasures"…and a sign outside said the same.

Kyo wasn't really sure if it was even legal for him to be working there, but he needed money, and Sakyo paid well. Thankfully, the shop was hidden and he never saw many ads for it in local newspapers or magazines. It wasn't the best environment for him, and Kyo was pretty sure there was some shady stuff going down in the back of the store, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Kyo knew very little about the various 'toys' in the shop, and Sakyo simply told him not to worry and placed a book on the counter for customers to use for their search.

"You're late," came the soft call from the front register.

Kyo turned to see a very pissed Karasu clad in tight black, leather pants and a silk matching shirt that was half unbuttoned. Kyo had to admit that Karasu was very attractive, but Kyo knew that he was definitely not the best person to get involved with. Though, the option was always open. Karasu had come forward to Kyo and placed the idea on the table more than once. And each time, Kyo had graciously declined.

"Sorry, I had a bad day and I had to get some stuff done," Kyo replied as he hung his jacket up in the back and stood by the register, ready to take on his shift. Kyo had to work the late hours, from 6 to 11 p.m. and he had no one to keep him company. Just him and the customers that would come in every now and then, and Kyo preferred it that way. If Sakyo was there, Kyo would have to listen to Sakyo's many talks about the toys and theirs uses, and most of them made Kyo nauseous. If Karasu was there, Kyo would have to listen to Karasu's sadistic, twisted means of pleasure and dodge the man's obvious advances.

"Well, I'm off for the night. I'll see you tomorrow, love. And I hope that you'll reconsider my offers," Karasu cooed with a wink before slipping out into the night with his black trench coat.

Kyo paled with Karasu's choice nickname for him and laughed bitterly to himself. "Yeah, right. Like I'd ever let you touch me."

**-------**

Kyo slipped on his jacket and turned the key in the door as he locked up four hours later. Yawning, he pulled the hood of his jacket up over his head as he started the long walk home. His car had broken down a month ago so walking was his only alternative. But only a few more paychecks and he would have the money he needed to fix it. The wind whipped around him and bit at his face as he walked into it. Thinking that things couldn't get much worse than the chilling wind, it started to rain. Then rain felt like needles as it poured down on Kyo.

Kyo's pace increased as he tried to walk faster and heat his body, but it was to no avail. It was so cold, he wasn't sure where his feet were taking him; he could only think of escaping the chilling weather. He wasn't sure how long he had been walking before he collapsed from the combination of the icy wind and freezing rain. The rain always made Kyo tired and with the combination of everything else, Kyo only felt the cold ground as he collapsed on some random sidewalk. He didn't recognize the buildings around him as his eyes drifted shut.

Two figures hovered over the drenched teen as he lay shivering on the cold ground. One picked him up and carried him to the small silver car as the other laid blankets down in the back seat.

"What are we supposed to do with him?" the one who prepared the backseat asked as the other carefully placed the unconscious figure in the back.

"I don't know, but we can't leave him out here. He'll freeze to death. Even if it is March, you know that the temperatures can get into the extremes at night."

The other took his seat in the driver's place as he pulled away from the sidewalk. "So where do you suggest we take him? I can't exactly take him to my house, and you can't really take him to yours either. You know how he feels about people like us."

"I can't believe you're labeling yourself. You know I hate labels. But I have an idea, so don't worry."

"And what exactly is this grand idea of yours?"

The figure in the passenger seat smiled lightly as he spoke, "You'll see, just make a left at this next light."

**-------**

Kyo slowly opened his eyes as he regained consciousness. He looked around what he assumed to be his room, and noticed that the walls weren't their normal shade of blue, they were a creamy color, and the bed he was currently stretched out in wasn't as soft as he remembered. Kyo's eyes widened. The last time he checked, his comforter was not white…it was black.

Kyo sat up quickly, instantly regretting it as his head pounded and the room spun around him. "Ow…where the hell am I?" Kyo rubbed at his head as his simple statement was answered by an all too familiar deep voice. "Coach?"

The tall, brunette waltzed over to Kyo's bedside and began checking Kyo's vitals, starting with his pulse and breathing. "You're really lucky, you know that? If they hadn't brought you in here, you'd probably be dead on that sidewalk right now. What were you thinking? Out walking around like that, don't you watch the news? There were calling for rain all week. And you knew the temperatures weren't going to be very high," the boys' soccer team coach chided. "And when I'm away from school, I prefer to be called Hatori."

"Well, _Hatori,_" Kyo drawled, adding emphasis on the name, "who brought me here?"

Hatori smirked at the younger boy as he grabbed his stethoscope from a nearby table. "They asked me not to tell you, so I'm not going to. If they want you to know, they'll tell you. But either way you should be grateful. Deep Breath."

Kyo did as the older man asked and took a deep breath, then released it and took another. After he felt satisfied with his breathing, Kyo spoke again. "Well, I'm just glad I'm alive. Hey Hatori, I didn't know you were a doctor. When did you get into this sorta stuff?"

"Well, Kyo, I was a doctor before I was a teacher. Hell, I didn't even want to be a teacher, but no one would join me in a joint medical firm because I was so young. So I took the only job I was ever offered. And well, yeah, you know the rest. I called your dad, he should be here soon. You're lucky that you don't have any frost-bite," Hatori said as he handed Kyo a set of dry clothes. "These aren't yours, yours are still in the wash. But these are about the right size and I don't wear them anymore."

Kyo stood slowly as he decided to make a trip to the bathroom. Chills ran up his spine as his feet hit the cold floor. Looking down at what he was wearing, which happened to be only a pair of black boxers, Kyo paled. He didn't even want to know how he got into those. "Thanks Hatori…is there a bathroom around here?" Kyo called from the hall.

Hatori chuckled lightly. "Last door on the right."

Kyo stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes later, the clothes hanging loosely from his figure. He wandered down the stairs to what he hoped was the kitchen, his stomach was complaining from the lack of a dinner and breakfast. He lazily raised his eyes to see his long-haired master sitting with Hatori and drinking a hot cup of tea.

"Good morning, Kyo," his Master said as he smiled warmly at Kyo.

"Morning Master." Kyo said as he sat quietly at the table between the two men. "Umm, Hatori?"

The grumbling of Kyo's stomach quickly ended his inquiry as Hatori looked at him knowingly and laughed lightly. "Sure, Kyo. I'll get you some food and then you and your father can be on your way."

Hatori wandered off to begin preparing a meal for the boy. Kyo and his Master sat in silence for a while, before the older man spoke up. "I was worried about you last night. When you didn't come home like normal, I began worrying and hoping that nothing terrible had happened to you. I was about to call the police when your teacher called and told me you were here. He told me it would be better if I left you here last night so he could watch over you. Today's a Saturday, I don't want you over-exerting yourself. You can just relax and take it easy today."

"What am I supposed to do about work?" Kyo asked, hoping that his father hadn't found out where he was working. As far as his Master was concerned, he worked in a normal shop that sold small trinkets and other normal items.

"You have to work tonight? I don't think you'll be going. Maybe you can call someone to fill in for you? You really shouldn't be doing anything today," he pleaded calmly.

Kyo groaned. Who was he supposed to find to work that job? But if he couldn't get out of the house, he'd have to find someone. "Okay, I'll call someone when I get home."

Hatori returned to the room with a plate of steaming food, and Kyo quickly began munching on the cuisine as Hatori and his master laughed at his eagerness. Kyo pondered over the people he could trust to work at the shop without ratting him out. He thought about calling Karasu and asking him if he could work late, but he doubted that Karasu would give up his Saturday night just because Kyo was under the weather.

Then, Kyo paled as he thought of how he could persuade Karasu into working his shift. Kyo didn't even want to go there, but he needed money and he couldn't afford to lose his job. But resorting that? It wasn't an option that Kyo even wanted to consider. Sure, Karasu was good looking…but to do that? No, Kyo wouldn't resort to that…would he? Kyo only hoped that he could find another way around it as he happily ate the warm food in front of him and turned his mind away from the rising trouble.

**-------**

Chapter 3 title: Silver & Cold by AFI

Please review guys, I love reviews. :)

--Fire-Arisa-Ice--


	4. Secrets

**Disclaimer:** I don't own…you don't sue.

**-------  
**_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
**_**-------  
****4th Tube  
****-------**

"Hey, it's Kyo. Can you come over here? I need to ask you something," Kyo pleaded quietly into the silver phone.

"Uh, sure. Corner of 26th and Main, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be right over then," Yusuke replied as he tried to figure out why Kyo was so desperate to have him over. He tugged on his white sneakers and thrusted his arms into the sleeves of his jacket before he headed out the front door of his small apartment. Kyo lived only a few blocks away, so getting there wouldn't take long at all.

Rounding the corner, Yusuke came upon the doorsteps of a small, quaint, two-story, white house. The trimming was a navy color, as were the shutters on the windows. The front porch wrapped around the side of the house, and there were white wicker rockers adorning it. Yusuke grinned as the picture of Kyo curled up sleeping in one of the chairs filled his mind. That would be too classic.

"Hey," came the deep call from the front door as Yusuke made his way up the steps to the front door.

Yusuke looked up to see the ruby eyes of orange-haired guide. "You know, you really are cute with that half-asleep look on your face," he said with a smirk.

Kyo groaned. "Not you, too. I get that enough from Karasu. Come on in."

Yusuke and Kyo made their way up the hard-wood stairs and down the hall to a room painted a calm blue. There was a full-sized bed in the far corner of the room, a computer and desk in the opposite corner, and many posters embellishing the walls, giving it a personal feeling. A small, ebony loveseat sat near the door. Yusuke slipped off his shoes, leaving them by the door and trekked across the padded ivory carpet to the desk where he turned the desk chair around and plopped down. "So, what's the big question?"

Kyo sat down in the loveseat, pulling his legs up into the chair and wrapping his arms around them. "Are you busy tonight?"

The ebony-haired boy smirked. "Asking me out on a date? Oh Kyo, you shouldn't have!" Yusuke exclaimed sarcastically. "We've only just met a few days ago! What would everyone say?"

"Haha, funny," Kyo replied with a roll of his eyes. "I didn't call you over here for that. I need to know if you can cover for me at my job. It's a simple job. All you do is run a cash register. Think you can handle that?"

"I thought at every job you had to have someone who also works there cover for you. Am I allowed to do it?"

"Yeah, the boss is really lenient. He'll probably end up paying you some extra for covering for me, and if he doesn't, I'll still give you some cash for covering for me."

Yusuke grinned. "Nah, it's okay. Anything to help out a pal, right?"

Kyo started chuckling low in his throat. "If only he knew what he is getting himself into,"Kyo thought to himself. "Well, whatever works for you. It's the graveyard shift, from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. If you want, you can stop by here when you finish. My master should be in bed by then. Just go around to the back of the house. I'll have a ladder under that window," Kyo said as he gestured to the window beside the head of his bed, "You can just stay the night and we can hang out and whatnot. You know, whatever you want to do."

"So what type of job is this exactly?" Yusuke asked curiously. "And how exactly do I get there?"

Kyo nodded towards a sheet of paper taped to the side of the computer monitor. "Those are directions to the store from here. It's a pawn shop, and even though you might not think it, it gets a healthy amount of business." Kyo smirked to himself behind his knees, "Payback time for getting my foot stuck in my mouth! But you'll be able to handle it."

**-------**

Yusuke stopped suspiciously at the oddly named pawn shop. "Passion and Pleasures? What kinda name is that for a pawn shop," he thought to himself. Stepping inside with no clue as to what the people Kyo worked with looked like, Yusuke began looking for any type of life form. "Hello? Anyone here?"

A slender man with long, silky black hair, sapphire eyes, and pale, ivory skin stepped out of the back. "Mmmm… nice. Not too short, not too tall…not overly muscular…May I help you? The name's Karasu," he said as he sashayed over to Yusuke and put out his hand.

Reaching out tentively, Yusuke took the taller man's hand. "Umm, Kyo's sick. He asked me if I could cover for him. He said to tell your boss that he's sorry it's so last minute, and he hopes it'll be okay if I fill in for him tonight."

Karasu seemed to ponder the topic for a few minutes before answering quickly. "Well, I'm sure Sakyo won't mind, I've had others fill in for me before. Just stay out of the very back of the store. The room that I just came out of is okay, but don't go any farther. That's Sakyo's domain, and believe me, he's very territorial."

Yusuke nodded and glanced around the shop. "Well, this shouldn't be too hard. I've worked my fair share in shops before, but tell me. Just what kind of pawn shop sells things like this?" he asked while picking up a leather whip with handcuffs to go along with it. The look in Karasu's eyes accompanied by his maniacal laughter made Yusuke wish he'd never asked.

"Pawn shop? Hun, this shop is a pawn shop in one light, but it doubles as much more." Walking over to the shop counter and taking a large magazine, he waltzed back over to Yusuke with that gleam in his eyes. "Take a look at this magazine, then think about the sign outside. Tell me what you think this store also doubles as after that."

Taking the magazine and flipping through the pages, Yusuke's eyes widened as realization hit him. "You mean to tell me that I'm working in an adult sex shop! I'm gonna kill Kyo when I get back to his place! Oh I'm gonna slaughter him…"

Karasu laughed lightly before taking the magazine away and placing it back on the counter. "Don't worry, all you have to do is work the register, ring them up, take their money, and watch them leave. That's all Kyo does, that's all you have to do." Grabbing a long, black coat from the back room and heading to the door, Karasu smirked at Yusuke. "You'll be okay. I'll make sure there's a little extra in Kyo's paycheck for you. Bye now, Honey."

"Honey?" Yusuke looked skeptically around the room before heading to the counter. He lifted himself up on the tall stool that sat behind it and tossed his coat carelessly into the room behind him. Pulling out a magazine of his own that he had taken with him, he began turning his attention away from the store. "Kyo is dead. I'll get him back for this one."

Lost in an article about his favorite band, the sound of the bell signaling someone's presence faintly registered in his ears. When the figure finally slammed his hand down on the counter, Yusuke's eyes jerked up from the magazine. "Yeah, yeah, what the hell do you--" Yusuke lost all train of thought as he stared at the person in front of him.

"Look, no one needs to know about this. The guys on the team needed some, and didn't want to go buy it themselves, so we had to draw straws. Looks like my luck was running short. If you don't say anything about me being here, then I won't say anything about you working here."

Yusuke smirked. "Well, that's a shame. I don't work here, I'm filling in for a friend. Now just what do you need in the first place?" Yusuke closed the magazine and propped his elbow up on the counter, his face resting in his hand. "You seem a bit nervous, too. Could this be your first time shopping in a place like this? Or is it your first time buying what you came for?"

The pale figure seemed a bit uncomfortable in Yusuke's presence, but other than a slight scowl on his lips, he kept most of his nervousness hidden. "I need lubricant," he bit out harshly. "As for your other questions, I don't feel the need to answer them. It's my business."

"Heh, I thought as much. So this is your first time?"

"No!" he shouted, obviously slowly letting Yusuke's matter-of-fact statements get to him.

"So it's not! Ahaha! Scandalous! A nice, young man like yourself in adult sex shops buying such things. But I guess every teenage guy has the urges." Fiddling behind the counter, assuming that's where the lubricant might be kept, Yusuke pulled out a box that just happened to hold lubricant…and many different kinds of it. "So, flavored, or normal? Colored or clear? Warming, or--"

"Just give me a damn tube of it! I don't care what it looks like, tastes like, or feels like! It's not for me! So please just give me one!" The young man gripped the edge of the counter tightly and had a desperate look in his eyes.

Chuckling lightly to himself and deciding that he'd played enough minds games for one night, Yusuke grabbed a random tube from the box and rung it up for the poor lad. "Enjoy." Yusuke watched the figure closely as he hurried out of the store and climbed into the small silver car.

"I told Kyo he had a nice ass…"

**-------**

Kyo looked up from his desk to find Yusuke atop the ladder tapping on his window. Quickly closing the notebook and shoving it in a random drawer, he realized that he had forgotten to unlock the window. Undoing the latch then slowly making his way back across the room, Kyo heard Yusuke crawl in. Hearing the mattress groan as Yusuke's weight was placed on it, Kyo closed his tired eyes.

"So what were you working on?"

The question came out of nowhere, and Kyo was half expecting it to begin with. "Nothing, it's just an old hobby. It was for my mom; she always wanted me to do it."

Yusuke's brows furrowed with curiosity. "But what exactly is it?"

"It's nothing!" Kyo exclaimed as he shot an angry glare in Yusuke's direction.

"Sorry dude, I just saw you hunched over that notebook working like a good litte student so I figured it was something for school. Didn't know it was such a touchy subject. Sorry."

"Nevermind it," Kyo whispered as he got up to make his way across the room to shut the door. But he didn't exactly make it there.

His body being slammed to the floor, Kyo comprehended the fact that he had just been tackled! Yusuke was sitting on top of him fiddling with his gingery hair. "Get off! What the hell do you think you're doing!" he screamed as he struggled to free himself.

"So when were you going to tell me exactly what type of shop that really was? Because it sure as hell wasn't a normal pawn shop. I had to get some guy who called me 'Honey' to explain it to me."

"Karasu," Kyo stated knowingly with a slight smirk on his face.

"Yeah whatever. He was gorgeous, but not really my type. He's into bondage, I can tell. But he's gotta be the dominant one, if I had to guess."

"Gross…" Kyo mentally groaned as a vivid mental image came to him involving Karasu and leather whips and chains… lot of leather whips and chains.

"But I have to admit, it was nice to see that sexy ass come in… even if it's owner was a bit on the cold side," Yusuke said as if speaking to himself.

Kyo's ears perked up. There was only one ass he had heard Yusuke mention, and that belonged to one--

"Yuki Sohma. He came in to get some lube. Said some guy on the team needed it and he was the unlucky one who was supposed to buy it," Yusuke said while climbing off Kyo and planting himself on the over-sized bed. "But my bets are that it's for him. He seemed a bit nervous about the whole thing. Then, when I asked him what kinda he wanted, he nearly bit my head off. So I guess it was his first time, or his second maybe. Who knows… with a guy like that, who can really tell?"

Kyo, who had currently placed himself back in the desk chair laughed like a mad man. "Who would've thought? The Prince, Yuki Sohma, buying lube in an adult sex store! It'd make the front page in the daily newspaper! Ahhh…oh man! I just thought of something, Yusuke! How am I gonna be able to keep a straight face around him now? Now I have to face him everyday at soccer!"

Yusuke's face twisted in a mix of humor and realization. "That's right! Oh man! That'll be a riot!"

Kyo sat laughing softly for a few minutes before it dawned on him. "I could have so much fun with this. It would be the ultimate blackmail…"

As they both settled in for a few hours of sleep, both in the bed, for neither had anything against sleeping in the same bed, Kyo began brainstorming many different ways to use his knew knowledge to his advantage.

**-------**

Kyo jogged lazily to the soccer field the next day, gear in hand. He put on his equipment and started stretching before his run when he saw his target, and the only other person out there, walk by. Smirking, he stopped stretching and snuck up behind the solitary figure, daring to breathe right in his ear as he spoke.

"So, flavored or normal?"

Yuki Sohma's breath caught in his throat as the deep words reeled through his mind. "H-how d-d-did you--"

"Colored or clear?"

**-------**

Chapter 4 title: Secrets by Good Charlotte

--Fire-Arisa-Ice--


	5. Teenage Recoil

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Note **Once again, I have let this go. I'm terribly sorry. I had 3 chapters written out and then lost them, and now I'm trying to rewrite. I hope this comes out nicely. Enjoy.

**-------  
****_Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry_  
-------  
****5th Tube  
****-------**

"Colored or clear?" Kyo whispered smoothly into the teen's ear. He could feel the tremor run down Yuki's spine and smirked to himself. "A wee bit nervous, are we? And for good reason! I mean, honestly! What were those guys thinking sending such a girly boy like you in to buy lube? Of course the clerk will be shocked, but it's normal. Maybe I should have a talk with them all, see exactly why they chose you…" Kyo trailed off as he started walking towards the group of teenage boys heading across the field.

A pale hand shot out immediately to stop him from making any progress. "If you say a word to them, I'll make your life hell." The words came tumbling out, laced through with embarrassment and fear. "It's none of their business, and I'm not sure how you know. But it doesn't matter, because it's none of your business either. So just drop it."

Kyo's smirk came back full force at this. "Oh, make my life hell will you? I'm sorry to say, my Prince, that it's far too gone for that. I'm not sure there's anything you could do to make my life any worse. I just guess that for now, I'll keep this information to myself, until I can find a way to use it to its full potential." The ginger-haired teen casually jogged away after that leaving a very frustrated and embarrassed Yuki in his wake.

**-------**

The scrimmage started off smoothly with all eyes on the new forward. There was a reason Principal Genkai had chosen Kyo. He was simply _amazing _on the field. Within the past fifteen minutes they had been playing, he had managed to overtake almost all of his fellow teammates and score four goals. His new target was Yuki, whom he had had been saving for last. This was going to be fun, and he planned to do it over and over again until Yuki lost his usual serious, cool game attitude.

Kyo's eyes fell on dark silvery hair and matching eyebrows furrowed together in concentration. Yuki was being awfully careful with the soccer ball he was currently taking down the field, but careful wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He had evaded all of his other teammates and suspected that he'd be able to make the goal with a single, quick shot. But that was before his fiery-haired nemesis had entered the game. There was a whole new set of rules now. Kyo was a trump card, a mysterious piece of work that couldn't be fully detected. Was he playing to his maximum ability or was there still some piece he was hiding? "There's only one way to find out," Yuki said to himself. He looked up only to see that Kyo had disappeared. He panicked slightly before regaining his composure and continuing on.

"I bet you like strawberry-flavored the best"

Yuki nearly tripped over the ball as the husky breath in his ear became a low chuckle vibrating along the cartilage. Kyo was _so close._ When had he gotten behind him? Yuki felt Kyo twirl quickly around him, deftly taking the ball with him as he went. He quickly increased his speed, a sense of anger coming over him. No one had _ever _stolen the ball from him; it just didn't happen. Yuki was the Prince. The fucking Prince of his school and of the soccer team, and he wasn't about to lose that title now to a player who had just joined the team! His lips curled down into a very unhappy frown before the teen started raising his speed even more.

But even though he was running as fast as he could, he wasn't closing any of the distance between them. It seemed as though Kyo was steadily gaining speed and control of the ball as he advanced down the field, while Yuki was simply running at the same pace as always. It was only a matter of minutes before Yuki heard the loud praise coming from the rest of the team for Kyo's latest goal, bringing the total to five consecutive goals, only half of Yuki's record. "No worries, he won't break my record," he said to no one in particular, as if reassuring himself that this wouldn't last.

The ball was headed towards him again, and as always, he paced himself with his teammate and looking for an opening before sliding in and stealing it away. But almost instantaneously, the ball was stolen from him, the only sign of warning a soft teasing in his ear. "I bet it was violet to match your eyes," tumbled from smooth tan lips almost pressed tight against his flesh. His steps faltered slightly, and it was that moment Kyo chose.

Make that six consecutive goals.

Yuki's anger and worry just kept rising and rising as the gingery-haired teen kept finding more and more things to say to him. Things like, "Was it warming to keep you hot on those lonely nights?" or "Maybe it was scented… did it smell like lavender? Just like you." It was the last statement that had clearly caught Yuki off-guard, but Kyo was known to get under his opponent's skin in any way possible. Each remark was driving Yuki closer and closer to the edge, and there was no telling when he'd let go.

Kyo had stolen the ball once more and was about to make his tenth consecutive shot when Yuki snapped completely. Kyo was almost to the goal when Yuki somehow managed to gain enough speed and momentum to accomplish his goal. He was a blur as he hurtled himself down the field, at an angle towards Kyo, and then under Kyo's feet, successfully sliding in and taking him out. The teen hit the ground face first with a sick thud and one of his legs was wedged beneath him, in a clearly painful position.

Time seemed to move in slow motion for the entire team. Yuki was crouching low, from his attacking position, and his breathing was shallow, as if he could barely breathe at all. Kyo, on the other hand, was slowly trying to get back to his feet, only managing to get to his hands and knees so far. His breathing was far from shallow; he seemed to be taking deep breaths, maybe from shock of the situation or maybe from the anger that was clearly evident on his countenance. His hands were now balled into fists, gripping the green grass on either side of his body, and his knees buckled slightly as he raised himself finally. His vermillion eyes were clouded over with rage, and Yuki glanced down to see that one of Kyo's shin guards was broken and poking through his sock right above his cleats.

Yep, Yuki was quite skilled at slide-tackling.

"What the hell was that? You trying to take my fucking legs off or something! Because I'm pretty sure that's not how we're supposed to take the ball from one another! You could have broken my fucking ankle! You're my teammate dammit!" Kyo's tirade continued on as he stalked over the subject of his anger. "Soccer is a team sport, and this is just a scrimmage. I'm on your team so get over it! Stop being such a prissy little girly boy who throws a tantrum every time he can't have a tea party!" Yes, Kyo was quite angry. Which in turn roused the anger of said prissy little girly boy.

"Well! You were the one distracting me to take the ball in the first place!"  
"Oh? Couldn't take a little humor?"  
"You call the things you were saying to me humorous!" Yuki's face flushed brightly as he thought back over everything Kyo had said to him. By now, though, his teammates had been listening and were starting to get curious about exactly what Kyo had been saying. Lots of questions were floating around and Yuki was trying to hush them all up when Kyo's low chuckling broke into his thoughts.

"Seems they're a little curious, don'tcha think? Maybe I should tell them all of what I was telling you? I'm sure it'd be a great laugh!" His eyes were taunting Yuki, sending their own silent messages. 'You want them to know? If not then there must be something in it for me' and Yuki had to think quickly to cover it all up.

"He was just being rude with his jokes. He knows they get under my skin faster that way."

Kyo smirked triumphantly before hobbling off to the bench to see his coach about some ice. His ankle was throbbing painfully and a part of him hoped that it was hurt horribly so he wouldn't have to play while his other half wanted it to be okay so he could taunt and tease Yuki on the field again. Luckily, his latter half was pleased when Coach Hatori told him to keep ACE bandages around it and simply not do a lot of strenuous activity for a week or so. Kyo had simply been having a rough few days.

But Kyo was certain that the way Yuki was jerking him across the stadium to the locker rooms was that strenuous activity Hatori had been talking about.

**-------**

It was hard to focus on the blurry vision of one Yuki Sohma before him because of the throbbing pain that attacked his ankle as said teen had dragged him all of the way across the huge stadium, down the cement stairs to the locker rooms, and then shoved him roughly onto a bench. It was clear that the Prince was not happy with the current circumstances, the way his cleat was urgently tapping the floor giving it away. "Just what do you think that's supposed to mean? What's it going to take to shut you up about that… _incident_?" Yuki pressed, his pale face flushed just thinking about the meeting.

A sinister smile tugged at the corner's of Kyo's lips as Yuki paced the floor in front of him. "Oh, I haven't decided yet. But I'll definitely let you. I'll keep it under wraps for now, but I will require _something _of you. That much is guaranteed! So be prepared, girly boy!" Kyo let a deep laugh escape his lips as Yuki simply glared at him through narrow violet eyes.

"You're lucky the other guys are coming down here soon or else I'd tear you apart."  
"Oh, I'm sure you would. Granted, a real guy wouldn't let the rest of his team coming 'round stop him from making a point. So just _try _me." But the threatening statement lost all sting as the rest of the team strolled in, praising Kyo for his amazing ball-handling skills and Yuki for the swift slide-tackling procedure he had mastered.

**-------**

Limping into his drama class the next day, Kyo noticed that Yuki was still just as angry as ever with him, but this time also glaring at their silver-haired teacher. He looked surprisingly like Yuki, but their personalities were opposite poles! Their teacher was loud and boisterous and _happy_! But Yuki, just kept quiet most of the time, not really wanting to disturb anything in class. Kyo took his typical seat beside the window and pulled out a magazine right before his drama teacher's voice blasted through the classroom.

"CLASS! It has come to my attention that we have a new student! And it's his first time being here with me to grace him with my knowledge! I, Ayame Sohma, will show him the way to Paradise!" He bowed deeply to the class, his long hair flowing over his shoulders like silk and his gold eyes reflecting the sunlight from the window.

No matter what Kyo did or did not like about his teacher, he had to admit that he was gorgeous. There wasn't a soul in the school who didn't admire the teacher's youthful and exotic appearance. And as for his teaching methods? He was the perfect teacher for their drama class. Because he was chock full of all the drama a person could ever want or despise.

"It has come to my attention that some of you are doing horribly in my class! Your grades absolutely suck," he said with a wide smile upon his face. "But I have decided to solve that problem!" He waltzed around the classroom at this point, waving his hands about and point at different students in turn. "I'm going to pair you all up! There's an even number, so I'm going to pair you with someone with either a higher or lower grade than your own. For example, Kyo Sohma and Yuki Sohma are our first pair!"

Both teens turned simultaneously to shout at their teacher.

"But I've got the best damn grade in the class!" Kyo shouted while slamming his hands down on his desk and glaring at the older man.

"Oh, but I'm well-aware of that! Kyonkichi, you are quite the little actor! And well, Yuki's grades simply suck!"

Kyo then turned to stare in disbelief at the dark-silvery haired boy. "The Prince is having trouble in _drama _class? I would've thought that there was plenty of _drama _surrounding him all the time!"

Yuki gave Kyo one of the nastiest looks before turning back around to face his teacher. "Can't I please have another partner?"

"Nope!" he said cheerfully, "Kyonkichi is simply the best and you are the worst! It'll be fun!"

After the two teens had been coaxed back down into relaxed moods, Ayame, as he asked them to call him, passed out sheets giving the students complete instructions.

'Dear Class!

I, your gracious teacher, have taken it upon myself to help each and every one of you achieve your goals of dramatic perfection! I have paired you all up with someone with more or less talent than yourself in the hopes that you might learn to cooperate and combine your styles to both be amazing actors!

You will be working on this assignment for a month, during which time, you will get to know your partner emotionally, mentally, and physically in order to be able to assess your different styles and mold them together.

You must stay with your partner 24/7 for at least one week to help you fully understand your partner. You must form a relationship with them and their acting façade. Your grade depends upon it!

After molding yourself with your partner you will pick a scene from any play and act it out together. You must pick a scene, or else one will be chosen for you! And there's no telling what I might assign!

Now good luck!

Ayame Sohma'

Kyo raised his hand slowly and glanced back over to Yuki one more time before turning back to his teacher. "Ayame, Teacher, you're a sadist, aren't you?"

Ayame's rich laughter could be heard in even the farthest halls of the building.

**-------**

Chapter 5 title: Teenage Recoil by Zeromancer

Yay! Chapter 5 is done! And I feel horrible because it took me over a year to finally get everything back together again! Expect more chapters soon, if I get some reviews. :P

--Fire-Arisa-Ice--


	6. I Dare You

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**-------  
**_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
**_**-------  
****6th Tube  
****-------**

Ayame had long since made all of the pairings and the annoying sound of chairs being slid across the tiled floor filled the room. Yuki and Kyo were currently engaging in a glaring competition as Yusuke was warily approaching his partner. A short, muscled teen with ruby eyes and jet black hair and a white star-shaped area in the front glared defiantly at him as he came closer. Said partner wore a white head-band tied in the back with 2 long pieces trailing behind him, skin tight black jeans that flared out slightly at the bottom to cover his matching black boots, and a scarlet tank-top.

Yusuke grinned inwardly. "Goth, perhaps? Or you just think you're a bad ass?"

The boy never lost eye contact and made no gestures at all. Not a sound was heard, and it was as though he was a mere statute in the room. Yusuke carelessly dropped into the seat across from him. "Name?"

"Hiei."

"Well, there's a start," Yusuke thought to himself. "Ah, Hiei what? What's your last name?"

"Don't have one."

"How can you not have one?"

"Hn."

"How?"

Silence.

"Okay, I'm Yusuke Urameshi."

"No fucking joke."

Yusuke's eyes narrowed at the slight. "Smart ass, too, huh? Well you must be doing an awful job in this class. I mean, can't form complete sentences and can't show any emotion at all. Yep, complete failure. They should've just kicked you out of this class. You don't belong here."

Immediately, a tan hand shot out and grasped Yusuke's throat. "Do not tell me where I do or do not belong. Got that?" His ruby orbs were now narrowed dangerously as Yusuke gasped against the pressure. Obviously, he had hit a nerve.

"Note to self: remember that information for further use," Yusuke ground out boldly.

The hand dropped immediately and Yusuke was relieved to be able to breathe normally again. Something was about the way Hiei's eyes had flashed before he started throttling him had scared him. It was almost as if this was only a millimeter of the thick coating of hate and anger he was wrapped up in.

**-------**

For the past fifteen minutes, Kyo and Yuki had done nothing more than the previous glaring. There was only an hour left in the class, and they had to decide whose house they were staying at. "Does it matter?" Kyo thought to himself, raising his hand at the same time. It took a while for his over-zealous teacher to acknowledge him but after he did so, the question came tumbling from Kyo's lips followed by the lively laughter of his teacher.

"Oh, did I not make it clear on the paper? You will be staying a week at each other's house. For example, Kyo, you will stay Yuki's house for a week, and then he will stay at your house for a week. By doing so, you will both get a very vivid view of how your other half lives!" Ayame's maroon robes flowed behind him as he began to run around the classroom pointing at each pairing and laughing hysterically.

"He planned this… I know he planned all of this on purpose," Kyo thought wildly. "Well, are you staying with me first or am I staying with you?"

But his question fell on deaf ears. The normally ivory skin of his partner was flushed completely with rage, and his eyes were becoming dangerous slits. The situation now placed before them was apparently not to his liking. Kyo vaguely wondered if it was from him having to stay at Yuki's house or vice versa. While he wasn't particularly fond of having the boy stay at his house for a week, he couldn't say that he wasn't curious as to what the other boy's room was like. I mean, he had bought some lubricant, right? "Must be a very interesting room," he noted to himself as the Yuki continued glaring daggers at their eccentric elder.

"Guess you're staying with me first," the ginger-haired boy said. "But let me just make a few things clear. You don't go through my stuff, you don't ask me about the pictures, and you don't make fun of anything. Anything else is okay, I guess."

**-------**

It was hard for Yuki to decide which clothes to take with him for the next week. He wouldn't choose something too preppy and risk ridicule from his unwanted roommate, but he wouldn't wear anything he wasn't comfortable in. After pulling almost all of his clothes out of his drawers and closet, he settled for his favorite Chinese-styled shirts with some comfortable jeans and slacks. "At least he can't give me hell about this, and if he tries, I'll just kick his ass."

"Getting ready for your week away, I assume?" Kurama asked politely as he entered the sulking teen's room. "I'm staying at my partner's house this week, too."

"Yeah? Well at least you didn't get the class asshole. Who did you end up with anyway? You never said."

"I got Akito Sohma. I don't really know much about him, and I know he misses school sometimes because he has a weak immune system, so I think this should be interesting. He does come off as creepy, so I'll have to keep my eyes out for anything weird."

Yuki's eyes widened at the mention of Akito Sohma. He knew the boy all too well, though he'd never told anyone how. He debated with himself over whether he should tell his friend about the boy's nature and how he acts, but then decided against it. It would raise entirely too many questions, questions that he didn't feel emotionally strong enough to handle right then. "Afterwards," he told himself. "I'll tell him when he gets back."

Kurama smiled lightly before picking up the duffle bag Yuki hadn't seen him bring in. "I thought maybe I could catch a ride with you since Akito's house is on the way to Kyo's. My car has been giving me problems lately and last night it had to be taken to the shop."

Yuki finished loading his bag just then and threw it over his shoulder. "Sure, just let me leave a note for Shigure before we go."

**-------**

Yuki turned into the gravel driveway at the large white house and waited for Kurama to get his bags from the back. He had not expected such a house to be the home of such a twisted boy. It was much too…white. Akito wore nothing but black. Always. Yuki had never seen the teen wear a shade lighter. But this bright, big, _cozy _looking house was very un-Akito-like. Though, Kurama seemed to like it just fine by the way he kept looking up at it and smiling widely. "Good for him," Yuki thought wryly. "Anyway, I've got to get going. Kyo is expecting me there in a few minutes. I'll see you later."

With that, and the appearance of Akito Sohma on the porch with his smug grin in place, Yuki sped away from the house and down the road to his own personal hell. Kyo would probably be waiting on the porch to yell at him for being late in getting there. And what could he do? It wasn't as if he could just openly start yelling at him there. His father or mother or whoever would probably find him to be very rude and insist that he leave. If that happened, he'd be screwed. He had to stay there, his grade, and reputation, depended on it.

As he pulled into the paved driveway, he glanced around the house. It was a very cozy and quaint two-story house with everything a nice house should have. Obviously, the dream house of whoever designed it, almost as if it was pulled from a fairytale. There was a handsome man sitting in one of the wicker chairs reading a book as Yuki approached the front door with his bags in hand. The gentleman glanced up and smiled, placing his book down for a few minutes.

"I'm Kazuma Sohma, Kyo's stepfather. Pleased to meet you. I assume you are Yuki Sohma?" His words were deep and kind, and Yuki wondered if he really did live with Kyo.

"Yes sir, thank you for allowing me to stay here."

"Oh, it's no problem at all. Hopefully, you'll be able to rub off on Kyo. Maybe he'll learn some manners and calm down a bit. He had to work late last night, so he's probably upstairs sleeping still. His room is right up the stairs and the last one on the left. You can wake him up. He shouldn't be sleeping this late anyway."

Yuki nodded in agreement, flashed his trademark smile, and then headed through the front door and up the stairs to begin his week. The house looked very comfy from what Yuki could tell. There were lots of pictures of Kyo and a very pretty lady spread all around. Some of the photographs would have Kyo, Kazuma, and the lady, and some had only the lady and Kazuma, and Yuki vaguely wondered when he would get to meet the kind looking lady. As he traveled up the stairs, even more pictures greeted his vision. Pictures of Kyo smiling more than Yuki had ever seen. "What's he hiding?"

Turning the door knob and pushing gently, Yuki entered the room to be greeted with a sight far different from what he imagined. He envisioned a much more disorganized room with lots of piles of junk all around. But this room was more organized than his own. Even the posters on the wall hung in perfectly placed positions. There was a mound of black covers on the bed which he assumed to be none other than his new roommate.

He glanced around and saw a futon against the far wall. He walked over to the futon and placed his bags down beside it and stretched out on it. "I might as well relax while he's still sleeping."

**-------**

Yuki woke a few hours later still laying on the futon, only this time, there was no mound under the black covers on the other bed. Another look around the room showed its previous occupant sitting at the desk in the corner, working furiously over something. The silvery-haired boy walked quietly over and got a glimpse at the picture before Kyo caught him and quickly closed the book.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"I was just wondering what you were working on. Something wrong with that?" Yuki asked irritably. What right did he have snapping at him anyhow?

"Yeah, well it's just my hobby, and I don't feel like explaining it to you. " Then, the notebook was shoved roughly into the nearby drawer. "Anyway, I'm going to have to go make dinner soon because Master can't cook at all, so you can either help or sit up here and find some way to amuse yourself."

Yuki opted to stay upstairs and entertain himself as the orange-haired teen started running down the stairs. Yuki turned to face the desk. He would love to see that picture again. It was a simple, but amazing piece of work. Yuki didn't know that Kyo was so talented. Soccer and now art. "Guess there's a lot I don't know about him."

Turning back to the futon, Yuki plopped back down and spread out. "Well, I can't cook, so I wouldn't be of much help. Might as well try to nap. I'm sure that idiot will come wake me up when it's ready. At least he better. Or else I'm just going to have to kick his ass."

**-------**

"Glad to see you're enjoying the new futon Master bought." Yuki woke to a deep rumbling in his ears. His eyes were assaulted by the sight of a slender toned body with tan skin and tight-fitting clothing. "I told him there was no way in hell I was sleeping with you. Never know what you might do to me. Granted, I'm sure there's not much you could do to me and get away with. I mean, there's still that nice piece of blackmail I still have." The silvery-haired boy flushed and looked away immediately, the cause of the purchase vaguely making its way back to the front of his mind.

"Yeah, well. I wouldn't want to sleep with you either. Anyway, what's for dinner?"

"Meatloaf. I hope you like it. I cater to no one." Kyo sauntered almost teasingly over to his dresser and tossed his current crimson shirt in the floor before pulling on a tight black one. "Well, don't just sit there gawking. Get your ass downstairs. Everything'll get cold."

Yuki followed the teen downstairs to be assaulted with the tantalizing scent of a warm meal. It smelled delicious. "Strike one up for Kyo," Yuki thought, "add cooking to the list of surprising things he can do."

**-------**

The meal was eaten in silence. Not really comfortable, but not completely uncomfortable, either. Yuki didn't really have anything to say. If he tried to compliment Kyo on his cooking, it would lead nowhere good. The fool would probably take it the wrong way and then pester him about his orientation. Something he really wasn't sure of at the moment. If he tried to talk about school it would get the idiot started on cliques and classes and how he was a "prep" and how he couldn't believe he was staying at his house and how it was defying his personal values. Definitely not the right road.

So Yuki opted for silence. Because there was only so much you could pick on people for with silence, and he was eating so he did have an excuse for not talking much. Thankfully, Kyo had chosen the same, and the only one doing any talking at all was Kazuma, who was happily chatting along about Kyo's grades and the fine dinner he had prepared.

And Yuki had to agree. The meal was simple but delicious, a great change from his usual take-out dinners. Guess his new roomie was just full of crazy surprises. What next? A special fascination with kittens?

**-------**

Dinner had been quick and wordless and the two were both upstairs now in Kyo's room. Supposedly, they were _learning _about each other, but all they had accomplished so far were their names and a fair amount of staring with the occasional glare. The wheels were turning in Kyo's head to see how he could best find a way to discover why Yuki had bought the lube. Then it clicked.  
"Let's play a game."

"What? What game?"

"Truth or Dare."

**-------**

Chapter 6 title: I Dare You by Shinedown

This chapter came out differently from what I expected, but not so bad I think. Thanks for the reviews! They made me get back to this and get this chapter all wrapped up. So please! Keep the reviews coming! I've got a lot more chapters planned out and I hope to hit 100 by at least chapter 20, earlier is if possible. Just remember, reviews keep me happy and me happy keeps me writing and updating faster!

--Fire-Arisa-Ice--


	7. The Best Deceptions

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Note **Oh wow! Thank you guys so much for the reviews:D It makes me very happy to open my email and see like 5 or 6 review alerts for my story! I'm all like, "Yeah! Let me write another chapter!" So here ya go!

Oh yeah, and I really like truth or dare, this is just how I think Yuki would react to it. :P So no offense to anyone or anything:)

**-------  
**_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
**__-------  
_**7th Tube  
**_-------_

"Truth or Dare."

"Truth or Dare? Are you kidding me?"  
"Not at all."

"That's a child's game. It's something little sixth grade girls play when they go over to each other's sleepovers! You can't really expect me to play such a juvenile game," Yuki nearly screamed at his orange-haired roommate.

"Oh, but I do. Really now, is the great Yuki Sohma backing down from a challenge? Are you _afraid _of what I might ask you?"

Yuki scowled. Kyo smirked. First point: Kyo Sohma.

"You really want to know that much about me? So much that you have to challenge me to a game of Truth or Dare? Really Kyo, I would have thought you'd have the balls to just ask me about myself! Or do you just want to dare me to do something stupid that you find amusing? Either way, I don't see where this is going to help anything."

It was Kyo's turn to scowl this time. Second point: Yuki Sohma. Didn't have the balls? Oh, what Yuki didn't know.

"I just thought that since us _talking _to each other obviously isn't going to get us anywhere, maybe we could make it a challenge! I know you just love to see how you can beat me! Though, I seem to recall me doing the beating at our last scrimmage. I would have thought you'd like to even the score with this," Kyo drawled out as he crossed his tan arms across his chest.

Lips were drawn unimaginably tight across the ivory skin. "Fine. I'll play your stupid game. But if you think you'll best me, think again, furball."  
"Furball? Where the hell did that come from?" Kyo asked, a look of casual curiosity on his face.

A small smirk formed. Eyes glinted. Third point up for grabs. "Because every time you think you're being attacked you remind me of a little kitty-cat with his fur standing on end, tail all bushed-out, and hissing uncontrollably. Little Kitty Kyo. Want me to get you a litter box so you don't piss yourself? You're starting to look like a kindergartner who can't find the bathroom."

And sadly, it was true. Kyo immediately stopped his little pacing routine as the anger was continually building up inside of him. Yes, he did look like a little kid trying to find a restroom, and the quick pacing and fidgeting was only the beginning. "Control yourself, let the game do the talking for you," he told himself. "It'll bring everything out." The gingery-haired boy sat down on his bed across from his silvery-haired counter-part. "Well, let's start then dammit. You first."

**-------**

"You just move in here or something?" Yusuke glanced around the room to see stacks of boxes piled high all around. Clothes were dangling over the edges of a few and some were marked in big, bold letters as being 'FRAGILE.' He placed his duffle bag at the end of the large bed (which was the only item in the room that did not have boxes on it) and sat down on the bed.

"You know, my mom and I just moved into our house. There are still loads of boxes stacked around, and I hate it. Everywhere you move there's a stupid box. We've been unpacking for days and it doesn't seem like they're going anywhere. And I hate feeling like I'm living out of boxes. Ya know? It's just that odd feeling. So you have any siblings? Sister? Bro-"

"Do you ever shut up?" the crimson-eyed boy's eyebrow twitched irritably as a smile spread across the other's face.

"Yes, I do, when other people start talking! You know, you suck at this communication thing. I mean, honestly. Those are the first words you've said since we started this and only five at that. How hard is it to talk to someone every now and then?" Yusuke sent Hiei a glare signaling his annoyance at the quiet teen.

But his glare was only met by the fiery glare of the other, and so, the two teens sat in silence, the tension immeasurably thick in the room, for two hours until their match was disrupted by the sweet giggle of a girl who looked strangely like Hiei. They were the same size, only with Hiei being more muscular and the girl having all of her natural curves. Her hair was a strange aqua color, and while her eyes were a round almond shape as opposed to Hiei's thin, slanted ones, they were still the same burning scarlet color.

"Hiei! You're home! And we have a guest! Is this for the new project from Ayame?" she asked brightly.

"Yes." Curt, terse, and to the point, as always.

"Well, hello," she said with a small bow, "my name's Yukina, and I'm Hiei's twin sister. It's a pleasure to meet you, Yusuke!"

Yusuke grinned his trademark grin and winked at Hiei. "I see you already know my name, but I haven't had the pleasure, before now, to meet you. I can tell already that your personality is much different from your brother's! I mean, you actually can form more than one sentence at a time!"

An eyebrow twitch here, a soft giggle there. "Well, he's really not all that bad! You just have to get to know him and know how to make him talk! It's all about topics. Like how I think he has his eye on our classmate, Saki Hanajima, but I'm pretty sure it's all a ploy to cover up the fact that he's-"

"Yukina!" Phenomenal twitching. "You really shouldn't bring up someone else's business in front of someone you hardly know." Hiei's cheeks were a dangerous shade of pink as his sister simply laughed the situation off.

"Oh calm down, Hiei. I'm not one to just outright give all of your secrets away. Yusuke has to earn them! Or pay for them…"

"You're not amusing. That Botan girl has had way too much of an impact on you. You used to be so quiet and shy; now you're a cheerleader and hanging out with the preppy herd. What's up with that?"

Her smile faded slightly as she turned away from her brother. "I just want to feel like I belong somewhere. Is that too much to ask?" When she received no response, she headed towards the door, stopping one last time. "I guess it is."

Yusuke glanced from the empty doorway to the brooding dark-haired boy standing near him. It was such a big change in the mood. Yusuke knew it was going to be a long week.

**-------**

"Your room is very…clean," Kurama said slowly as he placed his bag down carefully at the foot of what he assumed to be the spare bed. "It reminds me of my own, though my room is painted a deep emerald color…" he trailed off as he glanced around at the bright, white walls.

Akito simply sneered at him from the doorway before slowly observing the boy's frame. He had a good posture. "Obviously from numerous _dance _classes," Akito thought, "he moves like a ballerina, how _adorable_." As the red-head continued looking around the room, Akito's sneer turned into a dissatisfied frown. "Well, _Shuichi_, if you don't like it, I can always just put you on a couch somewhere. Or perhaps you'd like to sleep outside?"

'Shuichi' turned and smiled lightly. "Actually, you can call me Kurama. I'd much prefer that over my formal name, and sleeping on a porch wouldn't bother me all that much. I rather like being able to see the stars as I doze off." The look of pure amusement on the emerald-eyed boy's face was enough to send Akito into numerous fits of annoyance. Currently, the boy's eyebrows were knitted together and his lips were curling into a nasty snarl. "Struck a nerve, I suppose," Kurama thought with a smirk, "probably not used to being shot down. Oh well, he better get used to it if he thinks that I'm going to take it."

"Yes, well I'm sure I could arrange to have you sleep where the stars aren't so visible. While I'd prefer a black room, my parents would settle for nothing less than a blinding white. So get used to it, or get out." Akito continued to glare at Kurama as he took in more of the room.

"So when is dinner?"

"Six o'clock. No earlier, no later. Eat at dinner or don't eat for the rest of the night. Understood? Breakfast is just as prompt at seven with the same concept." Akito was very terse with his replies and spoke as though he ruled the house they were currently standing in.

As the frail-looking boy left the room, Kurama took in more of his surroundings. It was a very large room with a full-sized bed and a twin bed, the twin being the one Kurama would occupy for the week. The frame and bars were made of curved black metal to mimic vines wrapping around poles. In the far corner of the room there stood a bookcase with numerous old books adorning its shelves. The spines were worn from obvious use, and many of the titles were included in Kurama's own collection. From Tolkien to Terry Brooks, Dickens to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chaucer to Shakespeare, Akito had almost every genre of reading. Kurama was thoroughly impressed with this collection when he noticed a door almost hidden completely by the shadow cast by the bookshelf.

He turned the doorknob slowly, almost as if he was afraid the knob would break off if he went too fast. The room was painted the deepest burgundy imaginable, and light was cast in by a large bay window on the opposing wall. But it was the center of the room that caught Kurama's interest. There was a magnificent ballroom piano placed in the exact center of the room. It was a shiny black with pearly white keys, which, upon further inspection, were worn down in the center. They were the perfect shade, except for in the middle where years of playing had worn small discolored dips. But that only added to the extravagant beauty of the instrument.

Kurama cautiously approached the piano and sat down on the old, padded, wooden bench. His fingers ghosted over the keys playing a slow, sad melody. They say every note tells a story, and the soft melody combined with the strong contrasting pieces brought out every emotion of the heart. Kurama's eyes were lidded and he was nearing the climax of the song when his finger stroked a wrong key. The harsh sound brought him back to reality and his fingers left the ivory pieces. "God, it's been so long," he whispered almost to himself.

"I didn't know that you played. What song is it, I don't recall every hearing it before," Akito said lightly as his eyes continued to trail from the keys to the red-head's fingers and then back to the keys.

"It's one that I wrote myself for my mother. She always loved to hear me play, and then she got sick." Emerald eyes misted over with memories from his past.

"Can you play it for me? All the way through?" Akito asked suddenly.

Kurama quickly moved away from the piano and made his way to the door. "Maybe sometime later, alright? Playing always brings back painful memories for me."

"Then let me play for you." The suggestion caught Kurama off-guard. While it came out cold, as did most of Akito's comments, it wasn't insincere. The boy crossed to the piano as Kurama's hand lingered on the doorknob. The tune came out quickly, and it was loud and harsh. It would fade away at times and then build back up almost immediately, the notes telling a different story from Kurama's. It was alluring, but twisted with that odd sort of combination of notes.

At times, Kurama thought he heard the dark-haired boy mumbling low lyrics to the song, but he dismissed it as the song picked up again. Kurama found himself lost in the strange melody, and the ending came so suddenly that he wasn't expecting it. When it was over, Akito simply smirked at the keys. "Different, no? I suppose you've probably never heard it. Not many of your type have."  
"What…what was that?" the emerald-eyed boy asked softly.

"'Bad Habit' by The Dresden Dolls. You should listen to it sometime. I could never find the sheet music to it, so I listened to the song over and over again for nearly three weeks before I could figure out the notes. It's one of my favorite pieces. Catches you off guard, yes?"

"Very."

**-------**

"Ayame, not to doubt your teaching methods, but do you really think that this is a good idea?" Shigure asked warily as he read the assignment and glanced down the student pair list. "I mean, some of these pairs I can see working, such as Yukina and Tohru, but the ones like Miss Uotani and Miss Yukimura? Shizuru and Saki? KYO AND YUKI! Have you gone mad, Aya? They'll kill each other by the second day."

The silver-haired man only grinned mischievously before breaking into his trademark laughter. "Really! I thought them quite brilliant myself! Each pair is based on the skill of each participant. Kyonkichi is with Yuki because the former has the most amazing acting skills while Yuki has close to none! He gets too nervous and doesn't feel the moment! It was a necessary pairing!"

Shigure looked down the list thoughtfully before examining the class grades. "You could have placed Yuki with Shuichi. He has an exceptionally high mark."

"Yes, but then who would I put with Akito? Surely, I could not place Kyonkichi with him for Kyonkichi's temper is entirely too short-fused for such a smart-mouthed partner as Akito."

"Touché, but what about Yusuke? He hasn't been here long, but he has done fairly well so far."

"Ah yes, but then who would I put with Hiei? I've never seen that boy laugh or loosen up even the slightest, despite my efforts! I need someone like Yusuke to come in and steal his heart! That boy is quickly gaining the title as my successor!" he cheerfully bellowed out. "The pairings are perfect! I guarantee it! They'll spend a week in each other's presence, and they'll learn about each other. It will be a great social experience, as well. Think of all the cliques I could unite? Or at least keep from fighting constantly."

Shigure sighed in defeat. "You have a point. Well, have you at least informed Ha'ri of this?"

"Oh I dare not! He'll simply kill me! I mean, some of his players may end up missing a few limbs!"

"Oh, that's very optimistic, Aya, very optimistic."

**-------**

Chapter 7 title: The Best Deceptions by Dashboard Confessional

This chapter didn't come out as I expected, but I like it. I'm sorry that it was so long before I got this out, but everything piled up these last few weeks. Last week I had a 3 hour exam every morning and then a 2 hour SOL (basically an exam that determines if you pass or fail the class) every afternoon. And then prom was last Saturday and then this week I've had a lot of projects and papers due. I've been extremely busy, and for that, I'm very sorry! I hope the next chapter comes out soon!

Review Stuff!

**wayfarer-redemption: **You will find out about that picture in a few chapters. .

**TwilightMystery: **Yeah, I haven't really decided who I want Kurama with yet, I thought I knew, but then the last chapter took me to a different place. :) We'll find out eventually though! Haha, yeah. You're thinking of the same martial arts situations that I am. :P

And thank you to the following for reviewing the last chapter: Jaze, Amberhawk, Valery, Blader Fairy Everlasting, TwilightMystery, Neathangel, Meev, Yoru Kurenai, half-demon628, wayfarer-redemption, and Adi88 :)

I'm so glad that everyone enjoys this story as much as I enjoy writing it!


	8. Break Me, Shake Me

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Note **So I had two and half chapters of this done, and then laptop was attacked by a pretty evil virus. :S It ended up getting onto my system and then downloading a bunch of other viruses and they infected almost all of my documents, so I had to delete 95 of them because they couldn't be disinfected. My next chapters included. It took me a good two days just to get my laptop back clean and running again… so yeah. Sorry guys. Here's a new chapter, though I'm not quite sure that I like it as much as the one I had.

**-------  
**_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
**__------  
_**8th Tube  
****-------**

A fist slammed down on the carpeted floor, and its owner hastily raised himself to one knee. "I said to go dammit! I said that you have to go first, and so far we've just sat here for five minutes while you make stupid little thinking noises!" After the initial inquiry of truth or dare, Kyo had chosen the former thinking that a dare from his silver-haired roommate would probably be less than thrilling.

Violet eyes narrowed for a few seconds before settling back into a haughty gaze. "Well, you seemed so intent on playing this game that I just thought I'd think of a good question to ask you. But you seem to just want little third grade questions with the way you keep rushing me and all." There was a slight pause at the end, and Kyo settled back into his former sitting position. "Fine. I've got it," Yuki stated with a sly grin. "Why did you dye your hair orange?"

"What?" Nerve struck.

"I asked you, '_Why did you dye your hair orange?_' Or didn't you hear me?"

The look that made its way onto Kyo's face could only be described as a look of pure hate. "I didn't _dye _my hair orange. It's naturally this color. Why do you ask?"

Smirk. Opening. "Well, it's just a very bright color; it really stands out. I just thought that maybe you wanted the attention, maybe you liked it most when everyone was staring at you."

"Why in the hell would I want that kind of attention! Why would I want everyone staring at me like I'm some freak show just because my hair's a little different." The way Kyo's voice sounded as the last piece came out made Yuki almost regret asking the question. But this way Kyo's game, he chose it. And Yuki was not about to show weakness.

"Anyway, it's your turn. I choose truth, too." Yuki said as he turned away from the orange-headed teen. "Go ahead and ask away."

But such an obvious diversion from the topic was not going to be overlooked by Kyo. "What? Not kicking your opponent while they're down? Not intent on winning anymore? Go ahead, Yuki. Ask away. Go ahead and ask me something else about it! I'll give you a fucking answer!"  
"What time is it?"

"Around 10:30. What's it matter?" Kyo answered angrily, crossing his arms and continuing to glare at Yuki.

"I'm going to bed." With that, Yuki got up from the futon and made his way to the bathroom with a set of pajamas and a small toiletries bag. The silver-haired boy stopped in the doorway of the room, and without turning around, whispered, "You're such a masochist." Though it was soft, and probably meant to go unnoticed, keen ears picked it up and the boy simply turned to his own bed and started to get ready for the night.

**-------**

There was a faint scent of burnt pizza in the air as Yusuke strolled into the cafeteria for lunch. He easily found his usual table with its four usual students sitting at it. There wasn't much conversation as he made his way over there, only the light chatter between Uo and Shizuru breaking the silence. He glanced to his left at a table far across the large room, his eye catching a familiar star of white, before sitting down beside his orange-haired friend.

"So how was everyone's weekend? If it was anything like mine, you probably just slept most of the time," he said as he fiddled with the discarded wrapped of Kyo's plastic utensils. "Hiei didn't say much to me at all. Usually we just stared at each other and then yelled some, and then I slept some. His sister's a lot of fun, but I only talked to her once while she was packing her things to go stay with her partner. I don't know how I'm going to survive until next Monday."  
"Well," Shizuru began, "my partner…she's very…strange. She didn't talk much, but when she did, she kept going on about these _waves_. And I don't think I've seen so much purple and black in my life. It's going to be a long week with her. I don't even want to imagine her staying at my house."

Haru spoke this time, obviously in White Haru mode. "I wouldn't say that my partner is a _bad _partner. He just talks…a lot."

Everyone's attention slowly turned to Haru. "Who is your partner, anyway, Haru?" Uo asked, the look on everyone's face doing nothing to hide their own interest.

"Oh, you didn't know? Kazuma Kuwabara."

Shizuru's eyes lit up at the name. "You got my little brother! Well, I say little, but he's much bigger than me, and only 3 minutes younger. But anyway, that's really cool. I heard he was staying at his partner's house this week, so that means he's staying with you now?"

"Mhmmm."

"Oh there is a God! That means you'll be staying at my house the same time Saki is! Yes! Haru, you can save me from the weirdness that she is!" By this point, Shizuru had leaned across the table to wrap her arms around Haru's neck in excitement. Caught up in the excitement, she missed the slight flush of his cheeks as she sat back down in her own seat.

"So Uo, who'd you get?"

She sighed dramatically while covering her eyes with the palm of her hand. "Mother Theresa herself!"

"Ohh, so you got the Honda girl?" Shizuru asked offhandedly.

"The other one. Her saintly counter-part."

"Ah. Yukimura. I feel for you, I feel. So Kyo, you got the Prince, right? How was your weekend?" she asked, not thinking too much on the question.

A scowl made its way across his features as he began to speak. "I got the Prince, right? Should be pretty obvious. I tried to talk to him, I tried to start a game to get this thing going… I tried a lot of things, but he just kept on being as stuck up as ever. I don't think we're going to get anywhere in this project if he doesn't get that stick out of his ass."

A thick silence hung over the group after he was finished, each one contemplating the events of the weekend. More than one was curious as to exactly what had happened, but the look on Kyo's face was much more than enough to keep the questions from coming. Except for one.

"Well, Kyo, you're not the easiest person to get along with either. Do you think maybe you gave him reason not to want to do anything with you?" Haru asked calmly.

"What? So now you're taking his side, Haru? You think that little poof is innocent just because you've got a freaking crush on him!" Kyo yelled his hands slamming down on the grey tabletop.

An odd gleam settled in Haru's eyes as he replied, "Poof? Are you really one to be making fun of someone's sexuality? You don't really walk the straight and narrow yourself!"

"Yeah! Well neither do you!"

"Yeah, well unlike you I don't get all defensive about it and try to hide it because I really could care less who knows and who doesn't! And what makes you think he's a poof anyway! He could be completely straight for all you know! It's not like you talked to him long enough to find out anyway!" By the end of Haru and Kyo's yelling spree, almost everyone in the cafeteria was staring at them.

Kyo wanted to shout out that Yuki had bought lube at the store, but then what? His blackmail would be gone, everyone would want to know how he knew that, and then they'd ask him why he was working at a place like that. Granted, before he could get to that point, they'd probably all just accuse him of lying. He chanced a glance at the violet-eyed boy in question and the look on his face told Kyo that he'd be in for some major questioning and yelling tonight. "Whatever, forget this. I'm through here." The blue lunch tray was jerked up abruptly, and the teen stormed off.

**-------**

The rest of the day had been a blur in Kyo's mind. Shigure's class went by with little incident, the only thing ruffling Kyo's metaphorical feathers being the teacher's loud sing-song voice. Kyo had slept through most of his classes and left little bother him until he got to his last period. Ayame's outrageous drama class. They were supposed to get into pairs with their new roommate and start discussing their weekend and what play they wanted to act out a scene from. The day was already turning out to be hell, and the vermillion-eyed boy was less than thrilled at the prospect.

Glancing around the room, he picked out his usual friends already sitting across from their partner and going over the list of plays to choose from. Yuki was already waiting at two desks by a window, gazing out over the soccer field below. It was clear that he was lost in his own thoughts, but was brought abruptly back to reality when Kyo slammed his books down on the small wooden desktop. He was having a field day with the slamming bit. Doors, hands books…what next? Probably Yuki's head.

He slumped down into the desk and started looking at the paper that his over-the-top teacher had just dropped onto his desk. It was the list of plays they were to choose from. Oh fun. He quickly scanned to the bottom, most of the plays being the usual Shakespeare. But the one at the very bottom caught his eye "_The Crucible_." He had read it before, but he had never attempted his own rendition of a scene from it. "Oh the irony… a play about persecuting people because someone declared that they were different," Kyo thought as he ran his hand through his hair, "this is definitely the one I want to do."

"Let's do _The Crucible_," he said loudly as Yuki put his own copy of the list down. "It's about girls that pick people out for being different and they get persecuted for it."

Silvery brows furrowed as Yuki frowned, "It's about the witch hunts and trials, you idiot. I think we should do something Shakespearean."

"Well, yeah, the witch hunts were held because the 'witches' were different from everyone else! And I don't want to do Shakespeare. It's too over-done," Kyo answered defiantly.

"They were persecuted for being witches because witches were supposedly devil worshippers. And Shakespeare is classic. It's never over-done."

"AND THAT MADE THEM DIFFERENT DAMMIT! AND EVERYONE DOES SHAKESPEARE!"

"Why are we arguing over why there were witch hunts? This is stupid. And it doesn't matter who does Shakespeare. It's still a classic."

"Just shut up." Kyo let his head hit the desk with a loud thump, and soon his ears were assaulted by the booming voice of his teacher.

"Well, it seems that some of us are having trouble deciding what play you will all be performing. I suppose this idea just isn't going to work. I was hoping that we'd all be helpful, mature young adults. But if we can't all be ready to lend a hand, I suppose it's down to the last option." His face was that of a very defeated teacher, dramatic sighs catching in everyone's ears. "I suppose I'll just _have _to choose for you!" The look that made its way onto Ayame's face with the last statement was a look of crazed insanity.

Yuki sighed and ran his hand through his hair, a look of frustration crossing his features. "Ayame, I think we can all choose for ourselves."

"Oh, but dear Yuki! I think we cannot!" he exclaimed as he sauntered over to the boy. "You see, you and Kyonkichi are a prime example of why I must choose! Hiei and dear Yusuke are faring no better!"

"Oh dear teacher, save me!" Yusuke cried out dramatically, leaning back and throwing his hand to his forehead in mock despair.

The silver-haired man glided over to Yusuke to "rescue" him, "My dear Yusuke has thrown out multiple options but Hiei is just as cold as ever! And Shuichi, or shall I say Kurama, has been more than helpful! He's very obliging, and easy to get along with. But Akito here!" The look on the ebony-haired teen's face was full of contempt as Ayame threw his arms around the boy's neck. "Akito is so stubborn! Every time Kurama agrees to one of his choices, he decides to change! That is why I will decide!" At the end of his dramatic yelling spree, he pranced back to the front of the classroom and started examining his list. "Yes, I will come up with some marvelous selections for you all!"

Yuki closed his eyes and forced himself to ignore all of the commotion. Oh yes, what a fun class, complete with over-dramatic explosions and everything.

**-------**

The gingery-haired teen had just finished his routine stretches and was just about to set off on his normal run when a hand snatched the back of his t-shirt. "What the hell are you doing!" Kyo screamed, the action having scared him half to death, not that he would admit it.

"You have soccer practice." The violet-eyed boy spoke in very low tones, his demeanor showing that he was obviously less than thrilled with the way his day had went. "You know that you are _not _supposed to skip warming up with us. We are a team, albeit a slightly dysfunctional one, but a team nonetheless, and therefore, you _will _warm up with us. Understood?"

"So since when did Hatori die and make you coach?" Kyo asked playfully, his voice suggesting that he wanted to get a slight rise out of Yuki. "I mean, honestly, you'd think he'd choose someone who's less of a prick."

"Just shut up and put your stupid scrimmage jersey on."

"Honestly, who shoved the stick up your ass today?"

"I said-"

"'Cause they _obviously _left all of the fucking branches on!"

Yuki turned and shoved Kyo to the ground roughly, straddling his waist as he jammed his arm below Kyo's chin. "Look, _Kitty_, it's been one stupid fucking day. First, I have to fight with you all morning for use of the bathroom, then I have to answer everyone's stupid questions about the weekend, then that outburst at lunch from you, and then that ridiculous class with Ayame. I am in no fucking mood to put up with your childish antics. Got it?"

"Me dominated by lube boy?" Kyo thought, "not likely. Kyo tossed the other boy off of him, reversing their positions and slamming Yuki's head into the grass. "Look. You think my day has been all sunshine and happiness? Where the hell did you wake up this morning? There wouldn't have been a fight this morning for the bathroom if you hadn't have taken two hours in the first place! I only barged in there because I had to shower and stuff because it was eight o'clock and the bell rings at half past! You take forever! Just like a fucking girl!"

Obviously, Yuki was in no mood to listen past Kyo's morning, and before he knew it, his fist had connected with Kyo's jaw, throwing him off. The look of pure anger on Kyo's face was unmistakable, and Yuki stood, ready for anything that Kyo might throw his way. The soccer team and a few stragglers walking home stopped and gathered around the two boys.

And so that day, everyone learned that both Yuki and Kyo were exceptionally gifted at martial arts. Hatori and Principal Genkai included.

**-------**

Chapter 8 title: Break Me, Shake Me by Savage Garden

And I promise that there will be more Truth or Dare in coming chapters!  
Well, after my major setback, I finally have finished this chapter. It changed from the original, but I think I'm happy with it. It's going where I wanted, and after mapping out a lot of the story, I have figured out that this one is going to be a _long _one. I don't know how many chapters, but I'm planning that all out tomorrow night.

Review Stuff!

**Ren: **It made complete sense to me :P

**Kaesaku: **there will be Akito – Yuki past hopefully showing up in a few chapters ;)

**Rawr: **Some of the pairings are proving to be interesting so far :P You'll see!

**Kyonkichi89: **I love the YukiKyo pairing! And I thought having the Trio as a group of teachers would be fun! There will be a scene in Hatori's class soon:D And I thought that Shigure would be a good English Lit teacher since he's a novelist and all :P

And thank you to the following, too, for reviewing! They keep me going:D I hope to hit 50 reviews by chapter 10, but it doesn't look like it'll happen, so we'll see! Kei, Tsuki Fox, Yoruyonaka Watarimono, Luna Forest, BlackAnimeGoth666, minceo, and Amberhawk! Thanks you guys!


	9. Desecration Smile

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Note **Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm working on getting this story back up to date as quickly as possible:D Surprise scene in this one…. Well, surprising to me…

**-------  
**_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
**_**-------  
****9th Tube  
****-------**

"Kyo. Mr. Sohma. What a pleasure to see the two of you this afternoon," Principal Genkai said, though the look on her face was anything but pleased. "Hatori here tells me that the two of you got into a fight before soccer practice."

"Yeah! Well, he started it!" Kyo burst out.

"Way to sound like a five year-old, moron."

"I'm gonna-"

"Will you two please act like the young adults that you are. Or do I need to assign you each a time out?" Principal Genkai looked over at the coach of the high school's soccer team. "Hatori, do you have anything to say to the two of them?"

Hatori looked up from his make-shift roster at Kyo. "I thought I told you not to take part in any strenuous activity because of your ankle. Do you even have it wrapped with an ACE bandage?"

The vermillion-eyed boy crossed his arms and glared back at his teacher and new coach. "I heal fast."

"No one heals that fast, you idiot. If you keep trying to act so superior, you're just going to end up as a weak link in our team," Yuki countered calmly.

"Yeah? Well who asked you! It's your fault I have to wear this stupid-!"

"He is right, you know. Yuki, you are the one that slide-tackled him. You know that's not allowed in scrimmages with your own teammates."

The silvery-haired boy glowered at the older man. "Well, if he wasn't being so much of a show-off-"

"Well, if you didn't get so _flustered_-"

"I do _not _get _flustered_."

"Oh, I beg to differ! You were just like a little _girl _out there. I thought you might end up throwing a _tantrum _or something."

"Well if you weren't so much of an ass-"

"Boys!" the principal shouted as she slammed her hands down on the big wooden desk. "This is your first strike. If you reach three, you're both going to have to suffer the consequences. They will be handed down by me, and they won't be pretty."

"Well, who would think they would be? I mean look at you."

"Kyo! One more word out of you and you'll begin your punishment now."

"I was kidding! Kidding!" Kyo said defensively while scooting his chair away from the old lady.

"Do we understand?"

The two teens nodded their heads roughly before storming out of the small office and back to the soccer field.

**-------**

The silence in the room was over-whelming. Kyo was simply massaging his neglected ankle while his violet-eyed roommate sat seething over having missed a practice. On top of that, Hatori had made him give Kyo a ride home. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been," he silently thought to himself. "At least he didn't say anything." And that was the simple truth.

After the incident in the principal's office, neither had spoken a word. Each was silently cursing the other and their coach. He had strictly suspended each of them from the team for a week. Kyo because of his ankle, and Yuki because of his attitude. The latter was obviously outraged, being the team captain and all, but said nothing to his coach. Said silvery-haired boy wasn't so sure about Hatori's methods either because, after that, Hatori said that he had to drive Kyo home. Everyday. The brunette man had muttered something about teammate bonding, though it was more likely to turn into a homicide.

Nevertheless, this resulted in even more time spent in close quarters with the orange-haired teen, and Yuki wasn't sure his nerves could take it. To say that Kyo could get under his skin was an understatement. And he was slowly showing Yuki that he hadn't seen anything yet.

Just then, the object of his thoughts was making his way across the room slowly, heading towards the door. "I'm going to start looking for something to make for dinner. Don't break anything." And with that, he left the room, door swinging roughly shut after him.

Yuki still sat on his bed, completely silent, and began contemplating what question he wanted to ask Kyo in their next game of Truth or Dare.

**-------**

Hiei was involved in no after-school sports, as far as Yusuke could tell. The latter had approached the spikey-haired teen after school to inform him that he would be arriving later after some working out, but Yusuke wasn't even sure that the teen had heard him. Nevertheless, he went about his normal routine in the weight room before heading out to the track for some laps. Also going to watch the soccer boys get all sweaty – one of his favorite past times. After a couple of rounds and noticing that neither Kyo nor Yuki were anywhere in sight, he decided to head back to his quiet roomie's house.

It appeared to be a fairly small house from the outside, but upon entering, it was easy to tell that it was deeper than it seemed. Yusuke slipped the small silver key out of his pocket to open the front door, knowing that Hiei probably hadn't left it open. The lock made a slight clicking noise indicating Yusuke's correct assumption, and the door was slowly swung open as Yusuke entered the house.

The sound of two girls' laughter drifted down the stairs and the boy's curiosity peaked. He could make out the soft voice of Hiei's sister, obviously with a big smile on her face – you can always hear a smile in a voice – along with a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. They say curiosity killed the cat, but Yusuke was a firm believer that satisfaction always brought it back, so he began an ascent up the stairs to play the part of a friendly houseguest.

The room that Yusuke now assumed was Yukina's was fairly large. There was a large four-poster bed in one corner with dark teal drapes falling all around, tied back by cream-colored ribbons. Across from the bed was a desk complete with everything that a good student would need for school, and everything that you wouldn't find in Hiei's room. There was a stand against one wall with a fair-sized T.V. and DVD/VCR player on it, and beside the stand Yusuke could see a set of shelves packed with DVDs and tapes. The walls were a light teal color that went perfectly with the bed and the floors were of a dark, hardwood variety.

Yusuke's eyes fell upon the girls atop the over-sized bed, one being the familiar ruby-eyed girl and the other a girl that he recognized from class. She had long, brown hair and dark blue eyes. Her face was round, and her frame was slight, but of a good height. The girl somehow managed to look very appealing, even though her curves were less-defined than some of their classmates. Upon hearing Yusuke's light knock on the open door, both girls looked up at their visitor.

"Hi Yusuke," came Yukina's greeting, complete with a small, polite smile. "I think you might know Tohru? She's in a few of our classes. Tohru Honda."

"Hello!" the girl chirped as she also smiled at Yusuke. "Yes, I think I have quite a few classes with you actually. You're friends with Kyo?"

Slightly taken aback at their quick greetings, of which neither left room for him to offer his own greeting, Yusuke only nodded mutely, before regaining his usual bright composure. "Yeah! I've seen you around the school and in class. You two both hang out with the people like Yuki Sohma and that Shuichi kid. Yeah, not my crowd."

Tohru looked almost confused as Yusuke finished, not knowing whether it was dangerous ground to tread upon or not. "Ah, I'm sorry?"

The laughter that made its way through Yusuke was rich with comfort. "No, no, it's okay. You don't have to apologize. I say it's not my crowd, but it's more that it's not Kyo's crowd. Frankly, I could care less what type of person you are, so long as you're open-minded."

Yusuke's comment soon dissolved into a light conversation about the high school accompanied by tales about other students from Yukina and Tohru. While learning that most of the students in their classes used to all get along rather nicely, Yusuke also learned that Tohru was kind of an airhead. There were times when she would just break out into a "But my mom always said" comment that usually had nothing to do with their topic, or she would constantly throw around recipes for different meals. The dark-haired boy wasn't sure if he should laugh at her or ask her for a copy of her cook book.

His misery was soon ended though as Yukina pointed out that they had to leave for Tohru's apartment since it was her week to host. They said short goodbyes and left Yusuke to deal with his own partner. Yusuke found him locked up in his room with some headphones on, the music obviously insanely loud seeing as Yusuke could make out the words to the song and recognize it as a Zeromancer piece of work. He was leaning back in a desk chair with his feet propped up on his desk. The teen's eyes were closed, and Yusuke quickly decided to have some fun with him.

Being the master of stealth that he was, Yusuke crawled on top of the desk, somehow managing to hover over Hiei's legs and leaning forward with his hands bracing himself on the edge of the desk. It was a difficult position to hold for a long time, but Yusuke's face was about four inches from Hiei's. He couldn't wait to see the look on Hiei's face when he opened his eyes. Fortunately for Yusuke, that'd be sooner than he expected.

The crimson-eyed boy's eyelids fluttered slightly, and Yusuke thought that he might be sleeping. Then, his eyelids slowly lifted. He blinked twice, clearing the sleep from his eyes, and then recognition set in. He started at the close proximity before quickly trying to throw his feet off his desk. The movement only caused him to get off balance, and his chair rocked roughly forward. His head collided with Yusuke's and similar cries of pain were heard as Yusuke lost balance and toppled forward, bracing himself now on the arms of Hiei's chair. But it wasn't where Yusuke's hands were that mattered. At that moment, their lips had crashed together and were locked together in a state of shock.

Hiei seemed to come to his senses after a few seconds and ended the moment in the way he saw fit. One of the legs that Yusuke was still straddling was jerked violently up and Yusuke promptly lost his grip on the chair. He hit the floor hard and curled up into a little ball with his hands covering, in a protective manner, his sensitive region, which was currently throbbing with immense pain. "Oh my God," he moaned breathlessly. "What the fucking hell was that for!"

The spikey-haired boy in question was too busy scrubbing his lips with the back of his hand to notice the teen wallowing in pain on his bedroom floor.

"Jeez! You do realize that I'll never be able to reproduce after this, don't you!"

Hiei still remained quiet, though the violent twitching of his eyebrow belied his silence. He was obviously still reeling over the thought of what just happened. Yusuke had stopped rolling around by this time, but he was still curled up in the floor with his hands as a makeshift shield. "Well, if you're not going to answer to the question about the damage you just caused, at least tell me something. How was it for you?"

A sharp glare was directed at Yusuke before Hiei rolled his eyes and started to leave the room.

"Are you making dinner now, sweetheart?"

**-------**

Kurama dropped his duffle bag on the floor before heading towards the bathroom in the hopes of having a shower before dinner. It would be close, but he definitely didn't want to go to dinner when he was still all sweaty and smelly. That would probably upset Akito more than if his shower ran over into the beginning of dinner. He reached the bathroom quickly, but realized that he had brought nothing to get ready after his shower was over. Deciding that a towel would be fine until he got back to the room, he turned on the tap and stepped into the spray.

A little while later, he came out with a single white towel wrapped around his waist. He traipsed down the hall, expecting to be able to get dressed quickly and head down to dinner. The room seemed empty and there was a slight chill in the air as Kurama closed the door and dropped his towel. He bent over his bag to pull out some clothes when a sickeningly smooth voice filled his ears.

"Well, well, well…not too modest now, are we, Shuichi?" Akito's eyes followed the curve of Kurama's spine as he stood back up with clothes in hand.

Kurama quickly stepped into his boxers and pants. He sighed and turned around to face the ebony-haired boy. "There's a difference between being modest and being spied on." He turned back to his bag and pulled out a long-sleeved white button-up. "I seem to recall closing the bedroom door before starting to get dressed. And you could call me Kurama." The red-headed teen continued to stand with his back to Akito as he began buttoning his shirt, the feeling of the other's eyes still burning into his back. "Do you watch all of your guests get dressed?" The first time that Akito had watched Kurama get dressed had unnerved him and left him feeling slightly violated. After the third time, he had come to accept it as some strange voyeuristic streak in the dark-eyed teen. Years of soccer and lessons at a dojo with his best friend, Yuki, had left his body well-toned. He was slender, but pale skin stretched over hard muscles.

"Maybe I just like admiring the view. Is it a crime to want to watch a beautiful creature getting dressed?" he asked, a slight sneer gracing his features.

"I'm not a creature, Akito. I'm a human, and it's a crime if said beautiful _creature _has not given their consent. Personally, I don't really care if you watch. Just don't touch. I will be forced to break your wrist." Kurama swept past is partner, but a firm grip on his bicep stopped him from leaving the room. Another hand was slowly creeping its way up his left hip.

"Oh really? But I'm touching you now, _Shuichi_." No sooner than the words had left his mouth did Akito find himself face down on the floor, right arm twisted painfully behind his back with Kurama straddling him, his other hand keeping Akito's head firmly against the floor.

"I said, 'Don't touch.' Consider this a warning." Kurama left the boy lying in the floor as he made his way to the kitchen, hoping to get some leftovers, dinner already past.

Low, manic laughter filled the bedroom as Akito rolled onto his back. "Oh, Shuichi, you will be a fun one, won't you?"

**-------**

Chapter 9 title: Desecration Smile by Red Hot Chili Peppers

I got about 75 of the way through this chapter right after I wrote the last one, and I got stuck. But after some thinking and listening to music, RHCP mostly these days, the rest flowed out bit by bit. (Scene by scene actually, lol.) Anyway here's chapter 9! Yay for having 41 reviews! I only need 9 more before the next chapter to meet my goal! Yay:D Enjoy!

I know there's not a lot of Kyo and Yuki in this chapter, but it is a story about the others, too, so I thought I should put some of them in it. :) And it only took me 9 chapters to show Tohru finally! Sorry to those who like her, but there probably won't be a lot of her in this. At least not yet. She'll have a much larger role later in the story. :)

Review Stuff!

**Ren-sensei: **XD Yeah, I think soon we're going to see some embarrassing moments between the two! I mean, you can't live in the same room/house for a week and not experience at least one moment! And the lube will be explained! ;) Soon! I promise:D

**Kyonkichi89: **I know! I love The Crucible! We read it this year in my English class and my teacher made it a lot of fun even though it is a serious play. XD

**Tsuki Fox: **XD Yay! I always look forward to your reviews, they always make me smile:D Kyo is definitely going to find out who it is, but that's all I'm going to say! XD It's just YYH and FB for the story so far, I might throw in some odd characters from other animes just for random parts later in the story. Hmmm… I can't decide who I want to be the better martial artist. :) I'm thinking about throwing in a fight scene later coughcoughfightfordominancecoughcough haha… But we'll definitely find out! Next chapter coming soon!

**Adi88: **That's alright! I know what you mean by being busy with first-time college! I watched my boyfriend struggle with it this past year. Next year it'll be my turn. :S Thanks so much for the encouragement:D Hope you enjoy this new chapter!

**Holy MAcoroni: **Yuki's a bitch in my story because that's pretty much how he treats Kyo in the anime and manga. :S I want to keep them at least semi-in character.

And thanks to the following too! Your encouragement always keeps me going:)

The Cucumber Lady, Luna Forest, kaesaku, and Yoruyonaka Watarimono! Thanks you guys!


	10. In Combat

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Note **YAY! I broke 50 reviews! So for your reward, there's going to be a surprise in this chapter! Though I'm not saying good or bad… or it could be one of both. ;) Hope you enjoy it!

**Warning: **Awkward sexual situations ahead. :P That's all I'm saying.

**-------  
****_Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
_-------  
****10th Tube  
****-------**

The smell of an actual home cooked meal wafted through the doorway to Yusuke's borrowed bedroom. It was Wednesday, a little over halfway through the week, and Yusuke had almost given up hope of something other than take-out. He smiled wide before sitting up quickly from his reclined position over the edge of the bed. His head spun from the blood rushing back so quickly, but then hopped off the piece of furniture and bounded to the kitchen.

There was casserole dish sitting on one counter, filled with chicken casserole by the smell of it, and Yusuke grabbed a plate from the cabinet. He dished out a serving for himself along with the other side dishes sitting around the casserole and seated himself beside the ruby-eyed boy already neatly consuming his own meal at the kitchen table. Yusuke surmised that even if Hiei didn't look it, he had quite a few different mannerisms. Eating perfectly seemed to be one.

"I didn't know you could cook," Yusuke said lightly between bites.

"You never asked."

The raven-haired boy nearly dropped his fork in shock. Hiei…talking… "Wait, what'd you say?"

"I said 'You never asked.' I can cook. What's the big deal? Everyone should know how to cook." Hiei said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and the fact that Yusuke couldn't quite get his mouth to shut as he stared at him was making him look like an idiot.

"You've never said so much to me! So why did you make dinner, anyway? Usually we just end up ordering out."

"I thought it'd be a nice change. If you don't like it, then you don't have to eat it." The hard look in Hiei's eyes told Yusuke that if he said one wrong thing about the meal, he'd regret it forever. "Anyway, Yukina and I used to go to a prep school up north. We moved here just last year. One of the required classes at our old school was a cooking one."

"A prep school, are you kidding me? You? In a prep school?"

"Yes. Now get over it." Death glares from Hiei were intensely scary Yusuke decided quickly. "I hated most of the other classesbecause all of those stuck up pricks always had something to say, but at least in the cooking one I could ignore them and just concentrate on the food."

"So why'd you guys move here then?"

Hiei slid his chair back quietly and took his empty plate to the dishwasher. "Be happy that you learned as much as you did tonight."

"Hey, wait!" Yusuke called out as Hiei left the kitchen. "Hey! Hiei! Come back!" Yusuke jogged across the kitchen to catch the boy before he got too far away. "If I kiss you again, will you tell me more?"

A hard smack resounded through the room as the book Hiei was holding made contact with skin. But even the thrown novel couldn't wipe the broad grin off Yusuke's face. (1)

**-------**

Across the town, other students of the eccentric drama teacher's class were sitting down to their own dinner. Light, or in other cases tense, conversations were shared. In the home of one Akito Sohma, his red-haired houseguest was currently engaging in a conversation with his mother and flashing a charming smile to the others around the long dinner table. He was proving to be a very charismatic individual, and in his short stay at the house had won the friendship and respect of everyone there – something that Akito had been trying to do for the longest time.

It unnerved Akito to no end to know that this boy had just waltzed in and won everyone over. Most of the people showed Kurama the type of respect that should have been solely saved for Akito alone. The delicate crystal glass shattered beneath his grip and small shards were wedged into his palm. Most of the table's occupants quickly turned to see what had happened, and Akito glimpsed his mother sending off a butler for a first aid kit to clean him up.

"I'm fine," he said sharply, standing up quickly and catching the eye of nearly everyone in the room. The pale teen's gaze fell to his partner. He was staring at the wine currently swirling within his own glass, a slight frown playing at his lips. "I'm going to go fix my hand and then I'm going to bed. Do not bother me." A chair was roughly shoved back and a door slammed loudly as Akito stormed out of the dining room.

A couple of hours later, Kurama found himself turning into his own bed, sheets cool against his bare chest. He was close to sleep when the creak of a bed frame and sinking of a mattress brought him back completely. A cold arm snaked its way around his waist and an equally frigid chest was pressed to his back as their owner spooned himself against Kurama.

"What do you want, Akito?"

"Is it too much to just want some bedroom company?" Kurama shivered as a bandaged hand ran over the smooth plane of his chest and down his abdomen.

"I never said that you could come in here."

Akito's hand brushed the waist of Kurama's pajama bottoms, and Kurama jerked it away. "It's my house, _Shuichi. _And I'll do whatever I please." The hand was roughly yankedback, and its owner began running it through scarlet tresses. No sooner had he started, though, did Kurama sit up and walk away from the bed.

"I don't care if this is your house or not. You were _not _invited into this room, and if you touch me one more time, you'll regret ever laying a single finger on me. I don't like to play games, Akito, and you're pushing me slowly to my limit." Akito simply rolled off the bed and sashayed to the doorway, stopping briefly to give Kurama a leering smile.

"One day, Shuichi. One day you'll be screaming for me to touch you."

**-------**

Most Thursday mornings were just like every other morning. A normal routine was in place for two perfectly normal people. But on this Thursday morning, one of the two was facing a dilemma. Being a sixteen year old boy meant that he was just one perfectly toned body full of raging hormones just waiting to be released. He crawled quietly from his bed, a change of clothes jerked quickly from his chest of drawers and held carefully in front of him. The last thing he needed was for his roommate to wake up and see the bulge formed in the front of his shorts.

But most of all, he wouldn't want his roommate to ask him what gave him the erection in the first place, because Kyo wasn't sure that he could honestly say that he didn't remember. Visions of ivory skin tinged pink and violet irises glazed over in ecstasy filled his mind, and Kyo ran quickly, but quietly to the bathroom. "I've got to forget! What the hell was I thinking about that for anyway? I thought that was Haru's territory. I guess I'll just take care of it in the shower," he thought as he turned the shower on.

The owner of said ivory skin and violet eyes that were haunting Kyo's dreams was currently stirring on the futon. He sat up groggily, never being a morning person and never being all together in the morning. Thinking that Kyo must be already prepared to leave since he was always out of the shower by the time Yuki awoke, Yuki stood quickly, wobbling on spot, and walked slowly to the bathroom, eyes completely closed the entire time.

The door to the bathroom swung open easily, and Yuki began stripping off his pajamas, eyes still shut. "Mmm… it's so warm in here, Kyo must've just gotten out," Yuki thought to himself. "Oh, he must've left the water on for me, too." The silvery-haired boy slid the door open and stepped inside the shower, slowly opening his eyes to find the shampoo.

He was clearly not prepared for the sight before him when he woke that morning. His feet slipped and he had to grab the shower door to keep from falling completely. Yuki flushed as Kyo let out a breathy moan, and Yuki's whimper followed closely. Kyo had been standing in the shower, one arm propped against the wall facing the showerhead, and with the hand of the other arm wrapped firmly around a very obvious hard-on.

Kyo's hand dropped quickly as he whipped his head around. "CHRIST! GET OUT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?" Yuki started and slipped again, this time a hand catching Kyo's shoulder to keep balance, but to no avail. It simply resulted in both of them being slipping to the shower floor. Kyo wished that they had a larger shower because the confined space resulted in a very compromising situation in which wet chests were melded together and Yuki's thigh was pressed tightly against a very firm body part wishing his own hardening cock to not to betray him. Sadly, Kyo had already noticed.

"You're getting hard on this! I can't believe you!"

"Yeah! Well I don't see you losing yours!"

"I-" Kyo started but couldn't finish since it was the truth. He tried to get back to his feet, but only succeeded in sliding back down. "Just get out!"

"I can't! You're on top of me, moron!"

"Well, move your leg so that I don't end up hurting something!"

"Well, I would, but you're pushing so hard against it!"

"WHAT?"

"I-! You know what I mean, pervert!"

"Pervert? I'm not the one that got so hard on this!"

"LIKE I SAID, YOU'RE NOT LOSING YOURS!"

"Maybe it's because of the dream I had!" Kyo shouted while trying to turn the shower off. The water continually raining down on them was making the situation even more difficult, and not to mention slippery.

"You dreamt that we were naked in a shower together?"

"I didn't say that I dreamt about _this_! This is definitely not what we were doing!" Almost immediately after the words tumbled from his mouth, Kyo muttered a low "shit" and jerked himself up using the shower door. He slipped twice, but managed to keep his footing long enough to stumble out of the shower. Grabbing a towel and his clothes, Kyo ran back down the hall to his bedroom andkicked the door shut.

Yuki was still lying on the shower floor fifteen minutes later when he heard the front door slam, letting him know that Kyo was already leaving for school. He glanced down at his gradually waning erection and slammed his fist into the tiled wall beside him. "Dammit," he cursed to himself softly. "But at least I've got Truth or Dare material now."

**-------**

Yuki had seen very little of Kyo throughout the day, and for that, he was slightly thankful. After their morning escapade, he was sure that there would be some tension. He sat down at the table as his friends all sat around him sliding their trays along the table or dropping their lunch bags from home. The violet-eyed boy placed his own lunch on the table, a cold sub from a nearby deli, and raised his eyebrows at the ebony colored silk bag dropped beside his on the table. Kurama took a seat at the bag and started pulling out few different Tupperware bowls filled with food. He glared at each container as he opened them and began eating, silverware having been placed in the bag as well.

"Kurama, don't you usually eat the school food?" Yuki asked curiously as he watched his friend stab the fork into another piece of food.

As if drawn by the question, Akito sauntered across the lunchroom to where Kurama was sitting. Yuki visibly stiffened, but Kurama refused to acknowledge that the boy was there. "You left your water at home when you rushed out this morning, _Shuichi_," the boy purred in Kurama's ear, placing the bottle beside the rest of his lunch.

Kurama's gaze never left his food as he bit out a terse "Thank you" and asked Akito to leave. Yuki watched the boy saunter away before turning back to his own lunch. "So, Akito made your lunch?"

"No. He made his mom make it. He insisted that I take a lunch from home and said that if I didn't, he'd catch me at school and make me take it. I wanted to avoid any run-ins with him today, so I took it. I don't remember there ever being a bottle of water on the counter when I took my lunch, so I'm assuming that he brought one just to get under my skin."

"Um, wow. He's pretty out-there, don't you think?" Yuki asked, fully remembering how Akito could get to someone.

"Oh, it gets better. Last night, he tried coming on to me. I fully refused, and he said something about me eventually begging him to touch me or something, but I doubt that will ever happen. Anyway, did anything interesting happen between you and Kyo last night? "

"Well, nothing really happened last night." Yuki's face flushed as he remembered their interesting morning. "This morning was, er…strange."

Kurama's attention was now shared between his food and his best friend's obvious embarrassment. "Well? Go on then."

The other boy stared at his food as he started to tell his story, keeping his voice low so that those who weren't supposed to hear didn't. "Well, I got up to take a shower, like normal. Only this time…he was still in there, and, um, he was in a, er…_compromising_ situation."

"Compromising?"

"I kind of got in there with him while he was, you know…_relieving stress_," he finished in a whisper.

A slight chuckle escaped Kurama's lips as he willed himself not to burst out laughing from the hilarity of the incidence. "So you basically got into a hot shower with him while he was jerking off? And you were both naked? At the very least, did this help you decide?"

Yuki continued to look down at his food, his sub nearly whole. "Yes, that's what happened. And I'm positive now."

"Oh, really? And how did you arrive at that conclusion?"

Silvery eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, gaze still down. "I got hard as a rock in there. I think that pretty much decides it, doesn't it?"

**-------**

"Hey! Haru!" A boy with curly (2) orange hair, a shade or two darker than Kyo's, bounded across the cafeteria towards the small group of five. "Haru, I was thinking that after my soccer practice today we could go to the arcade for a while and just hang out. You know, take a break from the play part and all that. Whaddya say?"

"Asking my friend out on a date, baby brother?" Shizuru had a cigarette dangling between her lips as she smirked at Kuwabara. "I'm not sure you're his type."

"He's not," Haru interjected lightly. "Though, I wouldn't mind going to the arcade."

Kuwabara glanced between the two of them, not sure which part he should take as the insult. "Wait a minute. I didn't know you guys were friends! And you better get rid of that cigarette, Shizuru! You know smoking's not allowed in the cafeteria!"

"It's not lit," Haru commented softly.

Shizuru laughed lightly as she told her brother to leave them. "I swear, if I didn't know that he was completely straight with the hots for that Yukina chick, I'd swear he was making a pass at you!" She dangled her arm around Haru's neck, and as each word came out, her breath was warm against Haru's ear.

"And if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you are now."

**-------**

Chapter 10 title: In Combat by Aberdeen City

1 – Yes, that book hit Yusuke in the face. :P

2 – I think that Kuwabara's hair looks curly.

Wow! I'm not sure who I surprised more! Myself or you guys! I kind of just started writing and wow…Look what happened. There are some secrets that are hinted at in this chapter, so I hope that some of you catch on. ) Here's to a new chapter and the hurried release of the next:D

--Fire-Arisa-Ice—

Review Stuff!

**Tsuki Fox: **You'll just have to see about the Akito thing ;) And Haru's staying with Kazuma Kuwabara:D I'm glad you love this story!

**Johnny Sonic: **Oh, the best of Akito is yet to come! XD

**PurpleAjah: **I'm glad you think it's so funny! I'm going to try to write in the actual drama of the story, but still keep it light and funny. :) Hopefully I will succeed and it will be amazing!

**Adi88: **Yes, Yusuke's name has reminded me of that a couple of times. I think that so far, Akito is becoming my favorite character to write. It's just so easy to make him come off as twisted sexy.

And also to Luna Forest, kaesaku, Ren-sensei, kei, Yoruyonaka Watarimono, Kyonkichi89, The Procrastinator, BlackAnimeGoth666, and daisy! Thank you guys so much! You've no idea how much your reviews mean to me!


	11. This Is Our Problem Tonight

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Note: **I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter. Well, this chapter gets back to something we've all wanted a little more of. ;) And wow did it surprise me.

**Warning: **Sexual situations between our favorite boy toys. ;)

**-------  
**_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
**_**-------  
****11th Tube  
****-------**

It was Friday night. Kyo had somehow managed to survive till Friday without anymore awkward situations or conversations with Yuki. When he was around the violet-eyed boy, things just seemed to come out of his mouth when he didn't mean for them to. "Only one more night and then sissy-boy is out of my house!" he thought to himself as he lay back on his bed. "Wait. SHIT! I've got to go to his house after this! Dammit!" Kyo slammed his fist into the pillow beside him and rolled over to face the wall.

"Truth or Dare?"

"What?" Kyo turned his head slightly to see Yuki crawling onto the foot of his bed. He sat against the wall with his knees drawn up and his arms resting on them. "I said, 'Truth or Dare'?"

Kyo rolled back over and propped himself up on his elbows. "Why do you want to play now? You just quit last time."

Yuki smirked and leered down at Kyo. "Afraid? Don't want me to ask you about your deepest, darkest secrets?"

A low snarl made its way up Kyo's throat and he threw himself into an upright position. "So do you want to start or shall I?"

"Well, I've got something in mind for either, so may I?" The half-lidded eyes and small smirk should have been enough for Kyo to deem it a dangerous situation, but if he wanted to prove that Yuki had no effect on him after their 'shower incident,' then he had to take it..

"Fine. Truth. And don't give me anymore bullshit like your last question."

"Okay. What's your orientation?"

"I thought I said no more bullshit?" Kyo asked, a light blush crossing his cheeks. Admitting it to his friends was one thing, but admitting it to Yuki, his so-called arch rival, was different. On so many levels.

But the wheels in Yuki's head were turning and he was growing even more confident about this situation. "I wouldn't call this bullshit. I think this is a perfectly plausible question. The point of this assignment is to learn more about our partner to help them get more into drama. What better way than to start with past relationships and love?"

Kyo flushed even darker and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think that's a good place to start."

"Are you afraid to admit to your orientation? You must be a homosexual."

"I'm not a ho-"

"If you were heterosexual, it wouldn't matter because, let's face it, the majority of the Earth's population is."

"I said, 'I'M NOT-"

"Maybe bisexual? Afraid to admit that you find guys as attractive as females? I think that could be it. So tell me Kyo, homosexual or bisexual?" Yuki finished with a small satisfied smile on his face.

"I'm bi! Are you satisfied now?" Kyo was looking away from the teen, not really sure what to expect from him. But he was pretty sure that it wasn't what he got.

"See? Was that so hard? Jeez, Kyo, you could stand to loosen up a bit sometimes." Yuki's form had turned into lumpy bundle sprawled out at the foot of the bed, violet eyes peering out through heavy lids.

The orange-haired boy cocked an eyebrow at the boy's strange behavior. "What are you on?"

"Just what are you implying? Are we going to play or not?"

"Fine. Whatever. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

Kyo decided that it would be best to steer away from any personal questions. Going from Yuki's first question, the next few were likely to be even more personal. "Probably gonna want to know who I've been with," he thought wryly. "So, why are you crap at drama? It's not that hard to just put some emotions behind a few lines." Truthfully, Kyo thought that drama was a much more serious class to take because it allowed you to be whoever you wanted to be.For him, it wasn't just putting emotions behind words, it was about release. It was a weakness of his that he didn't want Yuki to see.

"I don't know. I guess I've just been hiding my emotions for so long that even when I want them to come out, they refuse."

Kyo snorted. "Well, you seem to be pretty good at yelling at people – me in particular. Why don't you just choose lines where people are mad at someone or something? I'm pretty sure that you could fool Ayame with that."

Chuckling low, Yuki rolled onto his back to face the ceiling. "That's just the thing. He wouldn't be fooled."

"Why not?"

"I think it's my turn to ask questions. Truth or Dare?"

"Umm, truth. I don't feel much like moving right now."

"Heh, lazy!" Yuki said playfully, sticking his tongue out at the other boy.

Kyo raised his eyebrow and simply stared back at the other boy. "Seriously, what's going on? You're really not acting like your normal prick self."

"Nothing's going on. Just let me ask my question," the pale boy _whined. _

Whined? The Yuki Sohma that Kyo knew never whined. "Okay, okay! Don't start crying on me! Ask the question already!"

"So, how did you figure out that you were bisexual?" Yuki was once again facing the ceiling, eyes once again half-lidded and glassed over.

The vermillion-eyed teen leaned back against his black, wrought iron head board, a blush creeping across his cheeks. "Kind of a personal question, don't you think?"

"I was just asking. After all, this is Truth or Dare."

"Fine, but just remember one thing: What's said in this room, stays in this room."

Yuki waved his hand in dismissal quickly and agreed. "I figured it out when I found myself attracted to my best friend," Kyo said softly, silently hoping that Yuki wouldn't question him further about it.

The other boy let out a low whistle before smirking. "Getting hard for your best friend? A male one at that? I can see that as being a very awkward situation. How did he take it?"

"What makes you think I actually told him?" Kyo's eyes drifted over to the boy, and he willedthem not to drop below his chin.

"Let me see if I can guess the situation. Naturally, you were confused because you'd never considered the option before. You didn't know if it was wrong or natural or just a completely random, one-time only type of thing. You couldn't go to your step-dad because parental figures ask too many questions and box you in. They want to suggest counseling or therapy sometimes because they think something is wrong. You couldn't keep it all in because it was simply too much to bear and try to sort out on your own. You didn't want to go to anyone else in case they went to him about it, and that would simply defeat the point of going to them in the first place. So in the end, you went to your friend, because a true friend would try to be understanding of your situation."

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

A sardonic smile crossed Yuki's features. "Yes, well, I have been told that I'm quite interesting."

"You were talking like you'd been through it, too. You were pretty close to the truth, though. I told Hatsuharu that I was attracted to him, only because I wanted it out. I knew that Haru would understand; he'd be a hypocrite if he didn't. A few months before that, he told me that he had a crush on me. That was when I really started taking another look at guys."

"Have you found yourself attracted to any other guys since then?" Yuki asked innocently enough.

Kyo quickly went back to staring at the bottoms of his jeans. "We should keep playing the game. I think it's my turn." The other boy giggled slightly before closing his eyes and nodding slightly. "Alright, then. I pick truth!"

"You didn't even let me ask!"

"I was going to pick truth anyway. I just thought this would save some time."

Kyo sighed, and shook his head. This Yuki was definitely not the one that he had been assigned to work with. Something was up, but Kyo couldn't quite put his finger on it. Suddenly, it was as if Kyo's eyes had been opened. "What better time to ask about the lube?" he thought. "He's talking way more than usual. He'd probably tell me anything that I want to hear…"

"What are you mumbling about over there, my precious kitten?"

An orange head snapped up immediately. "Precious kitten? I'd like to know what that's about!"

Yuki rolled onto his side and then crawled up the large bed to lie beside the other teen. "But, my precious kitten, don't you remember when I told you that you were like a little kitty?"

Tan cheeks flushed and Kyo looked back down at his jeans. "Whatever, I never said you could call me that. Just let me ask the question, won't you?"

"Okay, kitty," Yuki mumbled as he snuggled up to Kyo's side, causing the latter to stiffen…in more ways than one.

"So, why did you buy lube?" He asked the question lightly, making it seem as though it were a perfectly normal and casual question to ask. Everyone just randomly talks about lube, right?

The snuggly one giggled, he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, before answering. "Well, I was simply trying to discover my own sexuality, if you must know."

"Care to explain?" Kyo asked, hoping to milk the situation for all it was worth.

"Which part, kitten? My sexuality or how I was using the lube to discover it?"

Kyo thought about it briefly before a smirk crossed his features, and he asked Yuki to tell him about both of them.

"I'm bisexual, like you. Though I only figured it out recently. And, well, the lube part is rather embarrassing," the boy said, the sound muffled against the cotton shirtKyo wore. But Kyo was no idiot, he could feel rather than see the smirk that was pressed against his side. "But I'll tell you anyway.

"I've been trying to decide on my orientation for a while now. He suggested that I experiment with the lube. You know, slip and crook…" Yuki trailed off as he raised a finger in a crude visual demonstration.

Vermillion eyes trailed down to their owner's pants and noticed a slight bulge. Kyo groaned as his body reacted to the other's simple gesture. "Okay, okay, that's enough. Let's keep playing. It's your turn. And I pick dare."

Yuki smiled and slipped his arm over Kyo's waist. "I was hoping you'd pick dare. You know, normally, I'm all about keeping your hands to yourself unless you're in a real relationship, but I think tonight I'm feeling adventurous." Yuki slowly crawled on top of Kyo, hands and knees on either side of the teen. He leaned up slowly, face dangerously close to Kyo's own, wide ruby orbs staring right at him. Pale pink lips ghosted over a tan ear and words were whispered against his jaw, sending chills up his spine. "I dare you to let me touch you."

A tongue flicked out experimentally at Kyo's earlobe, and Kyo found the front of his pants to suddenly be extremely tight and uncomfortable. He sat tense beneath the other boy, waiting for his next move. A part of his mind told him that it was wrong, that this was Yuki, complete preppy prick and total enemy, but the word that escaped his chapped lips was a husky 'okay.'

He struggled against a moan as slender fingers slipped under his shirt to trail along the hard muscles of his stomach. Yuki's tongue ran from the dip of his collarbone up the side of Kyo's neck to trace the ridge of his ear. Kyo couldn't stop the slight whimper that escaped him and his hips rose slightly fromthe bed, pleading for contact. "Is this what we did in your dream, my precious?" the boy whispered against his ear again, his hips dropping to meet Kyo's own. Twin gasps were heard as their erections brushed, and Yuki drove his hips down again, finding the touch most intoxicating.

Kyo slowly opened his eyes to meet the violet gaze of Yuki. The latter simply gazed at him through lust-filled eyes before moving in slightly. His lips grazed Kyo's before his tongue took advantage of Kyo's parted lips. Things happened quickly, and soon Kyo's lips were melded against Yuki's, tongues battling while a set of hands was roaming up a shirt and the other over the sleek muscles of a porcelain back.

Their hips were rocking rhythmically, bringing each one over the precipice. Yuki, first, drew back and moaned his pleasure, eyes glossing over in the after waves of ecstasy. His nails were digging into Kyo's sides, but neither cared. Kyo, second, gritting his teeth and eyes clenching shut in the moment. His hands gripping Yuki's back and pulling his lithe body flush against his own. They say there motionless, each one holding onto the other as their breathing leveled out.

Yuki's lips sought out Kyo's once more as they settled down on the bed, Kyo lying on his back with Yuki's body lined up perfectly with his own. Kyo's hands were hot against the cool skin of Yuki's back, and he marveled at how incredibly soft it was. Evidence of their encounter was found at their groins, growing wet spots and denim sticking to skin.

The pale boy's lips were full and supple, and a part of Kyo's mind wondered what kind of chapstick the boy used. "Kyo, can I sleep here tonight?" The words were murmured against his own chapped ones, and he nodded slowly before moving the boy from his lap to the open space beside him. A glance at his clock informed him that it was nearing midnight, and both boys were exhausted.

He slipped from the bed, breaking contact with Yuki and walked slowly to his dresser. His hands pulled a pair of black boxers out before heading to Yuki's bag and pulling out a pair for him as well. They were dropped onto the bed and Kyo made a quick trip to his bathroom for a towel. When he came back to his room, Yuki was just sitting there with a dazed and confused look on his face. "Thought we might want to get a little cleaned up before we slip into bed."

His suggestion was welcomed and each set into changing before sliding between the cool sheets together. Yuki settled in on one side and Kyo on the other, moving forward to spoon against Yuki's back. His arm draped over a thin waist and Kyo closed his eyes.

There would be consequences. There would be questions to answer in the morning, things to explain. But he let himself drift off, because it wasn't simply his problem. It was their problem. "This is our problem tonight," he thought before falling into the realm of sleep.

**-------**

Chapter 11 title: This Is Our Problem Tonight by Aberdeen City

Wow…just wow. Yuki's behavior will be explained eventually:D I wasn't even planning this, but I just kept writing and it just kept coming out. I know this doesn't have any of the other characters in it, but it's the first ever chapter all about Yuki and Kyo, and I like it. Also, it's my very first chapter without any scene changes.

Did anyone notice my references to the title:P Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this, and expect to see some Friday night action between our other two sets of toys:D

Review Stuff!

**PurpleAjah: **:D I'll try to explain the names to you! The Furuba characters all have their same names, the other characters are from another anime called Yu Yu Hakusho. Yusuke, Hiei, Shuichi Minamino/Kurama, Yukina, KeikoYukimura, Shizuru, and Kazuma are all of those (and there will be more to come). I go between Shuichi and Kurama because Shuichi is his human name in the anime and Kurama is a part of his demon name that he regularly goes by. I use this as his nickname in my story. :) I hope that helped!

**Adi88: **Sorry that I didn't have any Akito in this one, but just wait till the next chapter comes out! ;) I'm thinking of doing two more chapters as companions to this one giving scenes from each of their last nights at the end of their first week. I think the Akito/Kurama scene is going to be a lot of fun to write. :)

**Kyonkichi89: **If you liked the last chapter, I hope you loved this one. I hope that this chapter was just as entertaining as the others, and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun reading the next two!

**Tsuki Fox: **There will be more to come about Yuki's little "confirmation." The Yuki and Akito past thing will come up much sooner than you might be expecting. ;) I can't wait to write the scene where Haru gets filled in! XD

And thanks to the following as well for your continuing support! I couldn't do it without you all!

**Kaesaku, Luna Forest, Aya The blessed Dead, Name, and The Procrasinator!**


	12. Playing My Game

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Note **This chapter is way overdue. I blame senior year, dying relatives, and college applications.

I wasn't sure how everyone would react to the last chapter, but I'm glad that they weren't all terrible reactions or anything. :P For the most part, it seemed like everyone really enjoyed the first bit of sexual tension between our main couple. And I'm glad. Here comes Akito. This should be interesting!

**Warning: **There's a sexy-twisted Akito…what more is there to say?

**-------  
**_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry  
**_**-------  
****12th Tube  
****-------**

He'd been avoiding him all week, the leering smiles and furtive glances causing him to feel uneasy whenever they were within a few feet of each other. Akito had a strange fixation with the boy, a fixation that seemingly began in his pants. Because if there was one thing Akito was making plain and clear, it was his desire to get into Kurama's pants. He had slipped into bed with the boy more than once, the first time resulting in Kurama moving from the twin bed in Akito's room to the guest room down the hall.

Akito smirked to himself as he watched the boy eat peacefully at dinner. The redhead obviously was not the least bit worried at meal times, maybe because of the presence of Akito's parents, but Akito knew that they would never deny him his pleasure. It was Kurama's last night in Akito's house, and the latter wanted to make the very best of it. "There may not be opportunities for our fun at his house," he told himself as he watched the teen, "I must simply make the most of tonight."

He excused himself from dinner early, too excited about his plans to eat much, and sauntered away from the table, heading for a certain bedroom. Kurama would be finished with his dinner soon, Akito was sure. He'd been watching him closely, timing his meals and memorizing his habits. It was time to play with Kurama again, and Akito would make sure that this game was a memorable one.

**---**

The scarlet-haired boy slipped quietly into the room, intent on grabbing his book and settling down to read for a while before turning in. He was hardly making any effort to get to know his project partner, but from what had happened so far, he felt he knew entirely too much. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but Akito's looks were worth far more. They burned intricate patterns into Kurama's smooth skin, curves and swirls along his body and over his most intimate parts.

Kurama had finally gotten comfortable when he heard the door to his closet slide open. He didn't even need to raise his eyes to know who it was. Only one person in that house had no regard for others' privacy. "What do you want, Akito?" he asked, voice carrying a lilt of irritation. He was in absolutely no mood to deal with the boy's ridiculous advances.

"Let's play a game," came the sultry reply. "I want to play a game with you before you have to leave." He was crawling now on hands and knees, moving slowly from the foot of the bed to the head, arms now on either side of Kurama's waist. "Shuichi? Won't you play a game with me?"

"And what do you suppose we play?"

"How about a nice game of Hide and Seek?"

"And the rules?"

Akito smirked broadly to himself before he answered. "It's simple. It's not your traditional hide-and-seek. We play in the dark. Complete darkness all around. You get ten minutes to hide, and then I get five minutes to find you." Akito sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, head tilted to the side in amusement. "Now, if I find you, then I get a reward. If you remain hidden for the five minutes, then you get a reward."

"I get a reward?" Kurama asked himself silently. "Maybe this won't be such a bad game. Pressing his leg up, the red-haired boy forced Akito to retreat to the end of the bed. "And these rewards? What are they?"

Kurama wasn't sure if the leer that made its way onto the other's face was out of excitement or perversion, but he was sure that either way, he wouldn't like the results. "The rewards are whatever the winner wants."

"Whatever we want?"

"Anything and everything." Akito made as if to check his watch for the time. "Well, you'll want to start hiding now if you want to take advantage of the full ten minutes."

"You're not going to hide?" Kurama's brows furrowed. This was not sounding good.

"No, I quite like the idea of you hiding and me seeking for the entire game." Another leer, another burning trail. "You'd better run, Shuichi. You've almost lost five minutes as it is."

Kurama quickly leapt off the bed and sped down the hallway, hair whipping around his face as he ran. There was no way he would be found by Akito. If Akito found him and won, there was no telling what he might ask for as a reward. Judging by his nighttime visits, he'd want to up the contact. Maybe Akito's skin touching his own? "Oh, hell no!" The emerald-eyed teen wasn't sure where he was headed, but he knew that twists and turns and rooms were a good thing. He'd discarded his shoes earlier, so his steps were light and silent. They were perfect match for the ultimate hiding spot.

He was just ducking into a cabinet in some dark, random room when heard loud noises coming from down the hallway. He could hear Akito's voice ringing out and he vaguely hoped that the boy would keep going. If he could only make it a few rounds without being caught, Akito would have to give in eventually.

"Oh, _Shuichi_! Come out, come out, where ever you are…"

**---**

Only two minutes were left in the third round of their game, and Akito was just as calm as he was when they began. The scarlet-haired boy had somehow managed to avoid him so far, but there was still plenty of time left to play and many more chances for Akito to be the victor. Just because he couldn't find Kurama did not mean that he had wasted the time looking. Akito had been thinking long and hard about what his first reward would be. The possibilities were endless, unless the other put up a fight. The dark-eyed boy frowned slightly. He knew that Kurama could be difficult; the boy had proven it on more than one occasion.

But everyone has a breaking point, and Akito was determined to find Kurama's.

And then he heard it. The squeaking of a cabinet being closed too quickly. Akito sauntered down the hallway, ears intent on catching the boy. When he reached the end of the hall, there was a set of cabinets, around twenty if Akito were to count them all. It was one large set stretching the length of the wall, the darkness casting looming shadows where sparse light filled the corridor. Some of the cabinets were large, large enough to fit a body in, while others were small and compact.

Knowing that it was quite possible for the boy to find some way to fit into any of the cabinets, he started at the bottom and began working his way up. After finally reaching the very top cabinets, Akito decided that Kurama obviously wasn't in any of the cabinets. The sable-haired boy frowned and started down the dark side corridor, tripping on the rug as he went. His hands shot out instinctively, and he found himself holding onto a large vase that should have toppled over with his added weight.

"Ah ha," he said curiously before slipping his hand down into the porcelain object. "Gotcha. So the cabinet door was a ploy? You tried to trick me into thinking you were in one of the cabinets so that I would spend the rest of the five minutes searching there, didn't you? My, my, Shuichi, you are a smart one, but there are still two minutes left."

Kurama groaned as he felt the hand tangle itself into his blood red tresses. "So now what? I suppose you get to collect your reward now." The boy gripped the sides of the vase and carefully pulled himself up before stepping out of it. "What do you want?"

It was dark in the hallway, and Kurama could barely make out the milky-white of Akito's skin as the boy's hand slipped down and tugged the redhead's shirt out of his pants. "I want to touch you." He started with his fingertips slowly trailing up Kurama's stomach and by the time he reached his chest, Akito's entire, cold palm was running over the boy's pectorals. He was leaning in close, his breath ghosting over the shell of Kurama's ear, and the emerald-eyed one shuddered involuntarily.

"Let's play another game, shall we?" They were leering again, those same dark eyes were leering up at Kurama as the boy questioned him, the tone of his voice all too provocative. "It'll be a fun one, I promise."

"What game?" Kurama's mind was screaming at him, but he couldn't help it. His curiosity was insatiable, and Akito was another mystery of the world that he needed to solve, needed to entangle himself in.

"A game of chase. I chase you around the house, still in the dark, but there is no hiding. As you know this is a very large house and I'll give you a two minute head start, but you can't hide. You must always keep running."

"And the prizes of this game? Are they the same as the last."

"Oh no, there will be only one prize. A kiss."

Slender fingers were still playing over Kurama's collarbone, and he tried to step back. Too bad Akito already had him pinned to the wall. "Why a kiss? Don't you think that's a bit personal for two people merely playing a casual game together?" He tried not to think about the nails just brushing over a nipple. "Isn't there a more suitable prize for this game?"

"No, I think this will be a very fitting reward."

Nails scratched a little harder. "Will you please stop it already? I think you've more than collected your prize on this one."

"Oh, but this is fun, Shuichi. But, if you insist," he said as he let his hand slide back down Kurama's chest. "How about we start the new game now?" Akito backed away from the boy and leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed over a thin chest. "And…go." He watched closely as the red-haired boy slipped quietly down the hall, walking, not running, as if showing defiance to the game. A smirk graced his features and he glanced down at his watch. Only two minutes for him to run away, and Akito mentally praised himself for the idea.

He had spent many years wandering around the house, and he was familiar with all of its twists and turns and hidden passages. There were certain places in the house that only he knew of, and he was sure that he could box the boy in. It was only a matter of time; Kurama could not run from him forever and he would make sure that he was there to catch him when the boy finally gave in.

**---**

"Damn," he thought as he turned another corner as quickly as possible. It seemed as though every time Kurama got a reasonable distance away from Akito, the boy would show up. He cursed again under his breath as the footsteps sounded as though they were getting closer and closer. Running a little faster, and praying for a little more distance, Kurama nearly screamed as he ran right into the person he had been trying to avoid. Their collision caused them to topple over, and as luck would have it, Akito landed on top.

Kurama mentally smacked himself as he realized that they footsteps he heard closing in on him from behind were actually coming from in front of him. He frowned at the look Akito was giving him and waited for the other boy to say something, anything. But he merely stayed there, body weight effectively holding Kurama down. He slid down the teen's body, and slipped his shirt up once more.

"What are you doing?" He was trembling now. The cold of the air trailing over his skin as Akito's warm breath came out in low puffs and sent chills down his spine. "I thought you said that you just wanted a kiss?"

"I never said where, did I?"

Kurama's breath hitched as he felt warm, pliant lips close over one of his now-taut nipples. They trailed lower then, leaving a warm, wet trail down his chest and stopping at his jutting hipbone. His hands found the other boy's head and he tried to shove him away, but then that devilish boy's tongue was swirling around the edge of Kurama's bellybutton, dipping inside every now and then, and Kurama's arms stopped working. It was hard to concentrate on stopping someone from touching you when said someone is kissing you in certain places and happens to be mysteriously attractive, despite his twisted ways.

But that familiar tightening of the front of his jeans began distracting him and he quickly shoved the boy's head away from him. "S-s-stop it. You just said a kiss."

Akito smirked and ran his hand across the boy's pants. "I never said how long I'd kiss you." His head ducked down again, but Kurama quickly scrambled out from under him. "Ah, so you want to play another round? Is that it? Well, alright then. Go." Kurama wasted no time in struggling to his feet and sprinting down the hallway in the dark.

It was barely five minutes later when Kurama was cornered by Akito again.

The boy moved like a ghost, rarely seen and never heard, fading from the shadows simply to reappear long enough to trap Kurama in another dark corridor. This time Kurama was held against the wall and Akito slid down the length of his body. He was gently sucking and nipping at Kurama's hipbone again, but then nimble fingers tugged open the button on the front of the red-head's pants and slipped his zipper down.

Kurama roughly grabbed Akito and shoved him away, but he was soon back in front of Kurama and jerking at the boy's pants. "I'm not done kissing you." Akito pressed his lips firmly to the bulge hidden beneath cotton boxers, but it was short lived. The emerald-eyed boy shoved the other teen to the floor and bolted from the hallway.

**---**

His breathing was heavy, too much running for much too long. He glanced around the corner and dashed into his guest room, locking the door behind him. His hands grabbed everything he had brought and shoved all of it roughly into his bags. He had to leave. A part of his mind vaguely wondered why he allowed himself to stay there for as long as he had and how he had gotten himself into the mess in the first place.

The teen was still quickly packing his bags when he heard the click of the lock to the door. It swung open slowly and the familiar lithe form of his host was shadowed in the doorway. The usual leer was in place as he took the final two steps inside of the bedroom and shut and locked the door behind himself. "We're not finished with the game dear Shuichi. I've caught you again, and it's time for another reward."

He stalked across the room and shoved all of Kurama's belongings to the floor. With a strength previously hidden, he grasped the other teen's arm roughly and shoved him down on the bed, his legs held down by his own and the boy's arms pinned to the bed above his head. A glance down told him that the boy had obviously been in too much of a hurry to bother fixing his pants completely; the zipper was only halfway up. "It seems as though you still want to play the same game."

Kurama shivered as fingertips trailed along his erection, and he found himself melting beneath the ministrations. A part of his mind screamed that something was wrong, that he should be fighting against the boy. But there was something about the thin line between danger and exhilaration, and Kurama found himself walking along the double-edged sword. Another stroke and the words spilled from his lips before he could think about it any longer.

"What are the rules?"

**-------**

Chapter 12 title: Playing My Game by Lene Marlin

Review Stuff!

Many, MANY, thanks to the following! I'm sorry that I don't have any individual responses to give right now! I just wanted to get this out asap! I couldn't do this without your constant support!

**Kai Sohma, archy the cockroach, PurpleAjah, Fenella Riddle, kaesaku, Adi88, Luna Forest, Tsuki Fox, Johnny Sonic, The Procrastinator, Aya, kei, Ren-sensei, Retardetto, and Fire-Goddess-Raven!**


	13. Ruled By Secrecy

**Disclaimer: **I don't own…you don't sue.

**Author's Note ** I was kind of depressed when I wrote this and it's not quite as long as the other chapters, but yeah. I still hope you enjoy it though. I mean, just think! The next chapter will be the morning that Yuki and Kyo wake up together! That should be interesting!

**Warning: **Meh, there aren't any real warnings for this pairing. They don't come across, to me, as the type that would take things pretty fast in the beginning.

**-------**  
_**Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry**_  
**-------  
13th Tube  
-------**

He looked at the calendar again. The date hadn't changed. The words scribbled angrily across the square hadn't either. They never did. The boy grabbed his jacket and headed quietly out of his room, the door clicking lightly as it closed behind him. Three steps…two steps…one step…the front door. He turned the outside light off. He didn't want to be able to see his reflection in the glass of the door when he came back home. He didn't want to see the tear tracks that showed up that one night every year.

He walked and walked, and soon, the roads became darker and neon lights hung where family ice cream parlor signs should have been. The heels of his boots scuffed the pavement of the well-known path in front of him. The building he approached looked the same. The stoop had the same broken steps, the same graffiti still marred the painted front door, and he jiggled the doorknob knowing that it would open the same way. The stairs on the left still squeaked beneath his feet as he traveled up to the second floor landing, and he knew that she would still be waiting in the same room on the right.

The threadbare carpet never changed, and the sheets, with all of their stains, didn't either. There were meager furnishings for the room, and the place appeared to be filthy, but there was a familiarity there that couldn't be replaced. He knew that she would turn the lights off before pulling him over to sit on the bed beside her. He had asked her to too many times before. She would start to pull her clothes off then, and he didn't want to see the jagged outline of cheekbones or papery-thin, ashen skin pulled tightly over her skeleton and leaving her tinted blue from veins too near the surface.

A deal made years ago should have taken care of her and any earthly needs, but the small scars on the inside of her arm and the various syringes shoved haphazardly around the room were tell-tale signs of where addictions took over. He let out the breath that he didn't know he'd been holding when her bony fingers trailed along his face and tugged at his shirt until it came loose from his jeans. He wasn't one for small intimacies, and she knew this. When he suddenly grabbed her and forced her onto her back on the bed, she made no sound. She never did.

The movements were jerky and rough and _familiar_. And when his fingers dug into her bony hips, her flesh still felt the same. The same noises, the same motions, the same feelings, and the same tears…they're all the same. It's therapy, he tells himself. In these moments, it's just him and the room and this girl. And that's all he needs. _There are no memories_. Soon he reaches completion, and he feels so sentimental value when she does, as well. It's just another trip to forget, and that's all he needs for now.

The sheet is scratchy when he cleans himself up, and he's pulling his clothes back on before she has even moved. He drops a wad of cash on the bed, an added bonus to the already set bonus, and heads for the door. It's not a safe arrangement, and he knows it, but he tells himself that he has no concerns for self-preservation. Besides, she whispers in his ear every time, "You're the only one that gets it like this," and for now, that's reassurance enough. "I'll see you again the same time next year?"

Ruby eyes flicker over to the worn bed in the corner, and he frowns as he answers. "Unfortunately."

**---**

She lies in bed and waits for the front door to open and close again. It's been nearly three hours, so she knows that he'll be home soon. Every year it's the same. The times never change, and she never wonders where he goes. He wouldn't tell her if she asked, and if she followed him, he'd know in an instant. She remembers when these nights first began, when his looks became so cold, and he stopped smiling altogether. She remembers the first time he yelled at her, and the first time he hurt himself for something that wasn't his fault. She remembers being so afraid when she saw that ruby liquid seeping between his fingers and the awkward way he was holding his arm.

He scares her so much, but she doesn't think he realizes it. She watches him when he isn't looking, and she started hanging out with those girls because they know all of the gossip, and if he got into any sort of trouble, she would hear about it. She was doing it for his protection, she told herself. She just wants to protect him like he's been protecting her for so long. That's what siblings do, isn't it? They watch out for each other and protect each other. That's what she wants them to be like. Always there for each other. But he's pulling away from her.

He always thinks that she's sleeping these nights, but if she sleeps, she dreams. And when she dreams, she remembers. She'll happily curl herself inside of her fabricated reality every year on this day if it will make it hurt less. The real world is full of harsh truths and sharp honesty, but she can't get cut inside of her fluffy world of make believe. There are only clouds and woven lies for her to live in, and it's a life she needs right now.

She thinks about her friends at school, the ones that only know part of the truth and leak sympathy for her stories. She thinks about the boy sleeping on the sofa in her den downstairs. There's so much that he doesn't know and so much that she needs Hiei to tell him. This boy is strange, and if given the chance, she thinks that he could free him. Bound by a history of pain, abandonment, guilt, blame, and death, her brother only needs a friend, a real friend, not just an acquaintance that he sees everyday. Her own needs can wait because she believes that he is more broken than he sees.

The front door closes softly and she hears light footsteps stop outside of her bedroom door. Her eyes shut quickly, and she struggles to regulate her breathing. In…out…in…out…nice and slow. He comes in quietly, his breathing is ragged, unlike her own, and she knows that this is the only time she'll hear it this way. She's only ever heard him cry, never seen him. The light familiar wetness falls on her face as he bends over to press a quick kiss to her forehead. It's the same as every year as he whispers his apologies and promises to make things better.

He leaves again and she cries silently into her pillow for the rest of the night. She knows that they will both be crying tonight. Like always. Her broken laugh echoes through the silence of her room as she thinks about how twisted they are. It's almost like a messed up family tradition. When she wakes in the morning, she knows that he'll act as if nothing has ever happened, that nothing is different from any other day. And she will act the same and wait patiently for the next year.  
_"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault…everything's all my fault."_

**---**

The house had been silent all afternoon. Yusuke struggled to get Hiei to watch a movie with him or play a game, but his efforts were mostly in vain. The boy wouldn't talk, wouldn't eat, wouldn't do anything. He padded through the house, silent as death and bothering no one. Eventually he went to his room and closed and locked the door. Yusuke tried to ask Yukina about what was going on with her brother, but she only laughed nervously and ran up to her own room, muttering some excuse as she left.

He was alone again in a house that didn't belong to him. He felt out of place, unwanted, and deserted. It was awkward when the others weren't around and he self-consciously turned the volume of the t.v. down. The silence bearing in around him seemed almost too eerie to be disturbed. He yearns for it to be broken, for something or someone loud to invade his senses and drag him away from the oppressive feeling of the house. He remembers nights like these spent in his own house waiting for his mom to come stumbling home at some odd hour of the night, too drunk and too high to care that he was still awake at the time. More often than not, he was the one tucking her into bed beneath sheets that were washed by him.

Some time later, he manages to fall asleep on the overstuffed couch, his body all wrapped up in a thick woven blanket courtesy of Yukina. Yusuke is awoken when the front door shuts a little more loudly than intended, and he hears someone's head fall against it. From his position on the couch, he can just make out Hiei's lithe form as he stands there with his eyes clenched shut and his chest heaving. His face is contorted with pain, and Yusuke hopes that it's physical because the emotional pain never heals quite as quickly, if at all. The boy is crying to himself, and Yusuke pretends to still be asleep out of privacy. He hasn't seen the boy show so much as a flicker of emotion for the past week, and he thinks the boy has finally broken down.

Eventually, Hiei heads up the steps without casting a single glance at Yusuke on the couch. The sound of feet padding overhead fills Yusuke's ears as he lies awake. They pause for a bit, but then continue their journey to what he knows is Hiei's bedroom. It's hard to for Yusuke to lie there and do nothing when he knows that the boy is probably still crying upstairs. He remembers nights where he would curl inside himself and merely wait for the pain to stop, the tears to stop falling. The feeling of loneliness that overtakes a person when they cry themselves to sleep is a feeling that he knows all too well. He feels broken when he realizes that someone else carries that burden too, someone that he cares for. He wants to wipe away the tears and make everything alright again, even though he doesn't know what went wrong in the first place.

His feet carry him to the boy's bedroom door before his mind catches up with them, but all the same, he enters slowly and closes the door tightly behind him. The boy is still crying, as he suspected, and he's curled up tightly, still wearing his clothes from before. Too broken to care and too tired to change, Yusuke knows. He slips quietly into bed behind Hiei and wraps his arms around the boy's waist. Hiei doesn't say anything, but his breath hitches for a moment. The tears are still coming, and Yusuke knows that they won't stop anytime soon. Hiei relaxes back into the embrace, and Yusuke hopes that things will be okay in the morning. He only wants to comfort him, understanding can come later.

**-------**

Chapter 13 title: Ruled By Secrecy by Muse

Thanks to the following people for their unwavering support!

**Tsuki Fox, Adi88, PurpleAjah, Luna Forest, Fire-Goddess-Raven, BlackAnimeGoth666, Ren-sensei, Kilademon, AnimeCat, Johnny Sonic, Kyonkichi89, Aornis Lethe, Cattigirl, Kaioma, Boylover929, and KittyBlue! **


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